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- Canada (14)
- Mandatory sentences (12)
- Discrimination in criminal justice administration (2)
- Sentences (Criminal procedure) (2)
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- Abused women -- Canada (1)
- Abused women--Legal status, laws, etc. (1)
- Aliens (Persons) -- Canada (1)
- Attorney & client -- Canada (1)
- Blacks--Social conditions (1)
- Canada. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1)
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- Corporations--Corrupt practices (1)
- Drug abuse and crime (1)
- Firearms--Law and legislation (1)
- Government accountability (1)
- Governmental investigations (1)
- Indigenous peoples--Effect of imprisonment on (1)
- Indigenous peoples--Legal status, laws, etc. (1)
- Indigneous peoples--Legal status, laws, etc. (1)
- Informers (1)
- Judicial error (1)
- Law Commission of Canada (1)
- Law and economics (1)
- Legal assistance to the poor -- Canada (1)
- Legal assistance to the poor -- Ontario (1)
- Legal ethics -- Canada (1)
- Mandatory sentences--Political aspects (1)
- Minorities -- Canada (1)
- Murder--Law and legislation (1)
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Articles 1 - 29 of 29
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
Aboriginal Peoples And Mandatory Sentencing, Larry N. Chartrand
Aboriginal Peoples And Mandatory Sentencing, Larry N. Chartrand
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
The author examines the impact of mandatory minimum sentencing on Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Emphasis is placed on the recently enacted mandatory minimum sentencing provisions for firearms offenses. The author argues that the enactment of such provisions are inconsistent with Parliament's objectives as reflected in section 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code which requires sentencing judges to pay "particular attention to the circumstances of Aboriginal offenders." In addition, the author explores preliminary arguments to support a finding that mandatory minimum sentences applied to Aboriginal offenders violate sections 12 and 15 of the Charter.
The Legislative History Of Mandatory Minimum Penalties Of Imprisonment In Canada, Nicole Crutcher
The Legislative History Of Mandatory Minimum Penalties Of Imprisonment In Canada, Nicole Crutcher
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Mandatory Minimum Sentences Of Imprisonment: Exploring The Consequences For The Sentencing Process, Julian V. Roberts
Mandatory Minimum Sentences Of Imprisonment: Exploring The Consequences For The Sentencing Process, Julian V. Roberts
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
In this article, the author discusses the nature and consequences of the mandatory sentences of imprisonment created by Bill C-63 in 1995. These mandatory sentences constitute the most comprehensive collection of mandatory minima in Canadian history, and will affect significant numbers of offenders. Unlike most mandatory minima created in other jurisdictions such as Australia, England, and Wales, the legislation that created the firearms offence minima offer no provision to be invoked in exceptional cases. In this article, the author addresses the effect that these new statutory minima am likely to have on sentencing patterns It is argued that they should …
Disarming Canadians, And Arming Them With Tolerance: Banning Firearms And Minimum Sentences To Control Violent Crime--An Essay On An Apparent Contradiction, Helene Dumont
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
In an article published in French in 1997, the author offered reflections on feminism and criminal law that would allow for a better control of violent crime, without Parliament having to resort to excessively severe sentences. In this respect, she argued that there was no contradiction in supporting the radical ban of firearms in Canada, while opposing a minimum sentence of four years under the Firearms Act, which currently affects approximately ten serious Criminal Code offences. After setting out her position in favour of the "disarmament" of Canadians, the author argued that minimum sentences of four years were unconstitutional. Such …
Searching For Smith: The Constitutionality Of Mandatory Sentences, Kent Roach
Searching For Smith: The Constitutionality Of Mandatory Sentences, Kent Roach
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
The jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Canada on the constitutionality of mandatory minimum sentences, from R. v. Smith to R. v. Latimer, is reviewed and assessed in light of relevant developments in constitutional law and sentencing. These include the Supreme Courts increasing interest in constitutional minimalism and corresponding reluctance to rely on hypothetical offenders and facial declarations of invalidity. The manner in which the Court's increasing concern for crime victims and fault levels has been used to justify upholding mandatory sentences is examined. The author also relates this jurisprudence to trends in sentencing, including an increasing acceptance of mandatory …
The Nullification Of Section 718.2(E): Aggravating Aboriginal Over-Representation In Canadian Prisons, Renee Pelletier
The Nullification Of Section 718.2(E): Aggravating Aboriginal Over-Representation In Canadian Prisons, Renee Pelletier
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
This article considers the disproportionate incarceration rate of Aboriginal offenders in Canadian prisons and the effectiveness of Parliament's attempts at alleviating this problem through the enactment of section 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code. This article focuses primarily on two recent Supreme Court of Canada decisions-R. v. Gladue and R. v. Wells. It is argued that the Court's narrow view of systemic factors, the Imitation it places on section 718.2(e) through its discussion of serious offences, as well as a number of practical problems inherent in the framework provided by the Court, strip the provision of its remedial intent. The article …
Distorting The Prosecution Process: Informers, Mandatory Minimum Sentences, And Wrongful Convictions, Dianne L. Martin
Distorting The Prosecution Process: Informers, Mandatory Minimum Sentences, And Wrongful Convictions, Dianne L. Martin
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
As the use of mandatory minimum sentences becomes more common in Canada, it is important to consider a range of potential consequences that are neither intended nor anticipated. This article considers the implications of mandatory minimum sentences in contributing to wrongful convictions. It considers the impact of these sentences on two significant processes in the criminal justice system, plea bargaining and the development of informers, and argues that both processes are vulnerable to distortions. These distortions, which include the wrongful conviction of innocent people, can be exacerbated by the threat of mandatory minimum prison sentences. In the case of plea …
Battered Women And Mandatory Minimum Sentences, Elizabeth Sheehy
Battered Women And Mandatory Minimum Sentences, Elizabeth Sheehy
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
The author argues for the repeal of mandatory minimum sentences based upon their role in the distortion of defences available to battered women on trial for the homicide of their violent mates. After reviewing other legal strategies aimed at eliminating the discriminatory biases facing women who attempt to plead self-defence, and illustrating the ways in which defences to murder are distorted, she turns to the examination of the transcript of a recent murder trial for a woman who argued self-defence. The author uses the transcript to provide concrete illustrations of three ways in which self-defence is distorted by the mandatory …
Latimer: Something Ominous Is Happening In The World Of Disabled People, H. Archibald Kaiser
Latimer: Something Ominous Is Happening In The World Of Disabled People, H. Archibald Kaiser
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
Although the Latimer decision breaks no new substantive ground, it has created a furore over the application of the mandatory minimum sentence for murder. This article maintains that, despite the pre-existing need to examine the complex range of issues in mandatory sentences, the Latimer case provides a wholly inapposite base for revisiting this sanction. The Supreme Court of Canada properly rejected the accused's attempt to invoke the defence of necessity, as well as some procedural contentions. The Court also determined that the mandatory minimum sentence for murder was not cruel and unusual punishment as applied to the accused. The reaction …
Mandatory Minimum Sentences And Women With Disabilities, Fiona Sampson
Mandatory Minimum Sentences And Women With Disabilities, Fiona Sampson
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
This article examines the issue of mandatory minimum sentencing from the unique perspective of women with disabilities. Concerns about the discriminatory application of mandatory minimum sentences are outlined and analyzed from a gendered disability perspective, as are concerns about the devaluation of the lives of persons with disabilities through the support of reduced sentences for those convicted of murdering persons with disabilities. This examination makes it clear that the different concerns of women with disabilities are difficult to reconcile, as they mandate contradictory positions with respect to the possible abolition of the sentencing practice. The challenges inherent in the development …
Sentencing The Criminal Corproation, Poonam Puri
Sentencing The Criminal Corproation, Poonam Puri
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
This article contributes to the debate on mandatory minimum sentences by analzing them in the context of the corporation as criminal and by employing a law and economics methodology. While the rational economic actor model maybe unrealistic when applied to individuals committing blue-collar crimes, it is a much more useful tool to describe the behaviour of criminal corporations that respond more directly to economic incentives. The article concludes that the mandatory fine for a corporation found guilty of a criminal offence should, at a minimum, equal the expected loss caused or profit gained from the wrongdoing.
The Political Attractiveness Of Mandatory Minimum Sentences, Anthony N. Doob, Carla Cesaroni
The Political Attractiveness Of Mandatory Minimum Sentences, Anthony N. Doob, Carla Cesaroni
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
This article addresses the question of why Canada still has mandatory minimum sentences despite inquiries by a number of commissions that suggest abolition. It suggests that politicians and judges alike not only promote mandatory minimum policies, but also speak about them in much the same way - as a way of fighting crime. Though the evidence is clear that mandatory minimum sentences are not an effective crime-control strategy, and actually disrupt the sensible operation of the justice system, it is apparent that the deterrence message they deliver is still functional for politicians and is rarely challenged by judges.
Mandatory Minimum Sentences: Law And Policy, Elizabeth Sheehy
Mandatory Minimum Sentences: Law And Policy, Elizabeth Sheehy
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Sentencing In The States: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, Julie Stewart
Sentencing In The States: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, Julie Stewart
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
Mandatory sentencing laws are responsible for the booming prison population in the United States. They are applied most frequently to crimes involving drugs and mandate harsh penalties of five, ten, twenty years or more behind bars for crimes involving no violence. Julie Stewart, President of the Families Against Mandatory Minimums Foundation (FAMM) and the sister of a marijuana user who spent five years in a federal prison, describes the unfairness of America’s sentencing policies, with a particular emphasis on the application of mandatory minimum sentences to drug-related convictions. These laws have led to a marked increase in the number of …
The Death Penalty, Mandatory Prison Sentences, And The Eighth Amendment's Rule Against Cruel And Unusual Punishments, Jamie Cameron
The Death Penalty, Mandatory Prison Sentences, And The Eighth Amendment's Rule Against Cruel And Unusual Punishments, Jamie Cameron
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
The text of section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibit cruel and unusual punishment in language that is similar but not identical. Still, in considering constitutional restrictions on punishment, the deviations of the Supreme Court both focus on the concept of gross disproportionality between the offence committed and the state’s response. Despite the appearance of similarity, this article maintains that differences in the American law of sentencing explain why Canada ought not follow or adopt the United States approach to minimum sentences.
Mandatory Minimum Prison Sentencing And Systemic Racism, Faizal R. Mirza
Mandatory Minimum Prison Sentencing And Systemic Racism, Faizal R. Mirza
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
This article discusses the relationship between racist policing, the exercise of prosecutorial discretion, and the disproportionate imposition of mandatory prison sentences on Black-Canadians It argues that the retention and expansion of mandatory prison sentences for serious offences will serve as a powerful means to perpetuate systemic racism in the criminal justice system. Reporting and applying surveys on systemic racism in the criminal justice system, the article sets out to demonstrate that mandatory prison sentences enhance the quasi-judicial role of prosecutors, providing Crown attorneys with greater leverage to convict a disproportionate number of Black persons. In addition, it argues that if …
Rethinking The Sentencing Regime For Murder, Isabel Grant
Rethinking The Sentencing Regime For Murder, Isabel Grant
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
This article reviews the current sentencing regime for the crime of murder in Canada with a view to identifying its shortcomings and suggesting possibilities for improvement. The article argues that the existing classification of murder into first- and second-degree, and the harsh periods of parole ineligibility attached to a murder conviction should both be abolished. The author argues for a compromise position, which would maintain the important distinction between manslaughter and murder and yet allow sufficient flexibility for trial judges to ensure that sentences for murder, as with other crimes, can be tailored to fit the crime.
Book Review: Punishment In Disguise: Penal Governance And Federal Imprisonment Of Women In Canada, By Kelly Hannah-Moffat, Amanda Glasbeek
Book Review: Punishment In Disguise: Penal Governance And Federal Imprisonment Of Women In Canada, By Kelly Hannah-Moffat, Amanda Glasbeek
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Book Review: Due Process And Victims' Rights: The New Law And Politics Of Criminal Justice, By Kent Roach, Rosanna Langer
Book Review: Due Process And Victims' Rights: The New Law And Politics Of Criminal Justice, By Kent Roach, Rosanna Langer
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Governing In A Rights Culture, Mary Dawson Q.C.
Governing In A Rights Culture, Mary Dawson Q.C.
The Supreme Court Law Review: Osgoode’s Annual Constitutional Cases Conference
No abstract provided.
The Myths Of Judicial Activism, Kent Roach
The Myths Of Judicial Activism, Kent Roach
The Supreme Court Law Review: Osgoode’s Annual Constitutional Cases Conference
No abstract provided.
The New Truth: Victims Never Lie, Edward L. Greenspan Q.C.
The New Truth: Victims Never Lie, Edward L. Greenspan Q.C.
The Supreme Court Law Review: Osgoode’s Annual Constitutional Cases Conference
No abstract provided.
Organizing For Accountability: Community Legal Clinics And Police Complaints, Irina Ceric
Organizing For Accountability: Community Legal Clinics And Police Complaints, Irina Ceric
Journal of Law and Social Policy
No abstract provided.
Women's Voices Being Heard: Responsive Lawyering, Susan Mcdonald, Pamela Cross
Women's Voices Being Heard: Responsive Lawyering, Susan Mcdonald, Pamela Cross
Journal of Law and Social Policy
No abstract provided.
Securing Accountability Through Commissions Of Inquiry: A Role For The Law Commission Of Canada, Robert Centa, Patrick Macklem
Securing Accountability Through Commissions Of Inquiry: A Role For The Law Commission Of Canada, Robert Centa, Patrick Macklem
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
Focusing on the Government of Ontario's unwillingness to call a public inquiry into the death of Dudley George, an Aboriginal protester, and the Government of Canada's willingness to interfere with an inquiry into the deployment of Canadian forces to Somalia, this article argues that governments appear increasingly reluctant to support a commission of inquiry into a public crisis even where it can serve as a catalyst for addressing larger and more pressing concerns of institutional and policy reform. It first addresses "start-up problems" associated with the fact that the decision to appoint a commission of inquiry lies within the sole …
The Increasing Irrelevance Of Section 1 Of The Charter, Christopher D. Bredt, Adam M. Dodek
The Increasing Irrelevance Of Section 1 Of The Charter, Christopher D. Bredt, Adam M. Dodek
The Supreme Court Law Review: Osgoode’s Annual Constitutional Cases Conference
No abstract provided.
Competing Constitutional Rights In An Age Of Deference: A Bad Time To Be Accused, David M. Paciocco
Competing Constitutional Rights In An Age Of Deference: A Bad Time To Be Accused, David M. Paciocco
The Supreme Court Law Review: Osgoode’s Annual Constitutional Cases Conference
No abstract provided.
Gendering The Pension Promise In Canada: Risk, Financial Markets And Neoliberalism, Mary Condon
Gendering The Pension Promise In Canada: Risk, Financial Markets And Neoliberalism, Mary Condon
Articles & Book Chapters
This article argues that retirement income provision in Canada is built on gendered assumptions, which produce material disadvantage for women. These inequalities are being exacerbated by current neoliberal trends towards the 'marketization' and individualization of pension provision, supported by tax, securities and corporate legal norms. The argument is developed using recent legislative changes to the operation of the Canada Pension Plan and recent developments in the regulation of mutual funds in Ontario as case studies. The article concludes by sketching out some possible points of departure for feminist interventions in pension privatization debates.
Legal Ethics And Moral Dilemmas: Strategizing Around Race In The Provision Of Client Service, Richelle Samuel
Legal Ethics And Moral Dilemmas: Strategizing Around Race In The Provision Of Client Service, Richelle Samuel
Journal of Law and Social Policy
No abstract provided.