Law Commons^™

R. V. Munyaneza: Pondering Canada's First Core Crimes Conviction, Robert Currie, Ion Stancu

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Canada recently completed its first genocide trial, which resulted in the conviction of the Rwandan accused, Desiré Munyaneza, for crimes committed during the Rwandan genocide. While the case is still under appeal, it represents a significant success for Canada’s relatively new core crimes legislation, the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, and was the first prosecution undertaken pursuant to that law. Drawing upon the Munyaneza case, the authors analyze the legislation and evaluate its effectiveness. They conclude that the model is an effective one that both bodes well for Canada’s future participation in the battle against impunity, and provides …

Reconceptualizing Vagrancy And Reconstructing The Vagrant: A Socio-Legal Analysis Of Criminal Law Reform In Canada, 1953-1972, Prashan Ranasinhe

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This article explores significant reforms to the vagrancy section of the Criminal Code during the mid-to-late twentieth century. By locating the reforms within their unique social, political, and economic climates, I examine how they reconceptualized the offence of vagrancy and concomitantly reconstructed the vagrant as a social problem. The reforms played a seminal role in reducing the number of vagrancy offences, eventually leading to the demise of vagrancy in the criminal law. Yet, while the "vagrant" ceased to exist in the law, the law still continues to preserve vestiges of the vagrant in a highly gendered manner.

Pursuing The Perfect Mother: Why America's Criminalization Of Maternal Substance Abuse Is Not The Answer- A Compartive Legal Analysis, Linda C. Fentiman

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

In this Article the author will examine not only the substantive legal differences between the United States, Canada, and France, but will also explore how these legal rules fit within a broader social, political, and religious setting. This Article will pursue four lines of inquiry. First, it will briefly chronicle the history of criminal prosecution of pregnant women in America and show how these prosecutions have become markedly more aggressive over the last twenty years. Second, it will situate these prosecutions in the full context of American law and culture, demonstrating how the fetus has received increasing legal recognition in …

Towards An Equality-Enhancing Conception Of Privacy, Jane Bailey

Dalhousie Law Journal

Canadian jurisprudence has explicitly recognized the impact of child pornography on the privacy rights of the children abused in its production. In contrast, it has generally not analyzed other forms of harmful expression, such as hate propaganda and obscenity,to be violations of the privacy rights of those targeted. In a previous article, the author suggested that this distinction in the jurisprudence reflected the relative ease with which the privacy interests of the individual children whose abuse is documented inchild pornography meshed with the prevalent Western approach toprivacy as a negative individual liberty against intrusion. Noting the historic role that the …

Missing Privacy Through Individuation: The Treatment Of Privacy Law In The Canadian Case Law On Hate, Obscenity, And Child Pornography, Jane Bailey

Dalhousie Law Journal

Privacy is approached differently in the Canadian case law on child pornography than in hate propaganda and obscenity cases. Privacy analyses in all three contexts focus considerable attention on the interests of the individuals accused, particularly in relation to minimizing state intrusion on private spheres of activity However, the privacy interests of the.equality-seeking communities targeted by these forms of communication are more directly addressed in child pornography cases than in hate propaganda and obscenity cases. One possible explanation for this difference is that hate propaganda and obscenity simply do not affect the privacy interests of targeted groups and their members. …

Effects Of The Criminalization Of Hiv Transmission In Cuerrier On Men Reporting Unprotected Sex With Men, Barry D. Adam, Richard Elliott, Winston Husbands, James Murray, John Maxwell

Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology Publications

This paper reports on the perceptions and practices of men who have frequent unprotected sex with men in a socio-legal environment defined by the 1998 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Cuerrier. HIV-positive people are increasingly finding themselves in court since Cuerrier and many are trying to take account of legal reasoning in their own conduct. The judicial construction of behaviour likely to transmit HIV relies on a set of presumptions concerning individual responsibility, rational and contractual interaction, and consenting adults that raise a series of ambiguities and uncertainties among HIV-positive people attempting to implement …

Proportionality In The Criminal Law: The Differing American Versus Canadian Approaches To Punishment, Roozbeh (Rudy) B. Baker

Roozbeh (Rudy) B. Baker

The focus of this Article shall be upon the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution and s. 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, both of which prohibit “cruel and unusual punishment”; and their effect on mandatory criminal sentencing (via penal statute) in the two countries. The Article shall begin by briefly explain the differences between the jurisdictional application of criminal justice in the United States and Canada. The Article will next present and explain the American Eighth Amendment approach to the constitutionality of mandatory criminal sentencing and contrast this to the Canadian s. 12 approach to …

Rodriguez Redux, Jocelyn Downie, Simone Bern

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Assisted suicide has once again surfaced as an issue of public attention. Just in the past year, four cases have been in the news. In addition the results of a major study on the attitudes of cancer patients in palliative care towards euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide and the results of an Ipsos Reid public opinion poll on assisted suicide were released. Vigorous calls both for and against the decriminalization of assisted suicide followed. Given that it has been fifteen years since the release of the most famous assisted suicide case in Canada, and given this recent spate of attention, we …

The Challenges Of Institutionalizing Comprehensive Restorative Justice: Theory And Practice In Nova Scotia, Bruce P. Archibald, Jennifer J. Llewellyn

Dalhousie Law Journal

The Nova Scotia Restorative Justice Program ("NSRJ") is one of the oldest and by all accounts the most comprehensive in Canada. The program centres on youth justice, and operates through referrals by police, prosecutors, judges and correctional officials to community organizations which facilitate restorative conferences and other restoratively oriented processes. More than five years of NSRJ experience with thousands of cases has led to a considerable rethinking of restorative justice theory andpractice in relation to governing policies, standards for program implementation and responses to controversial issues. The purpose of this paper is to explore the significance of the Nova Scotia …

Child Pornography In Canada And The United States: The Myth Of Right Answers, Travis Johnson

Dalhousie Law Journal

Child pornography is an increasing worldwide concern and is one of the most active fronts in the ongoing battle between freedom of expression and public safety and morality. In 2005, the child pornography provisions of the Canadian Criminal Code were amended in response to the controversial decision of the Supreme Court in R. v. Sharpe. Similar legislative response has occurred in the United States following the U.S. Supreme Court decision inAshcroft v. Free Speech Coalition. A comparative examination of the legislative and judicial treatments of the issue of child pornography in these countries reveals that despite reaching differing rights-balancing positions, …

Gender Equality, Social Values And Provocaion Law In The United States, Canada And Australia, Caroline Forrell

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Gary Botting, Extradition Between Canada And The United States (Ardsley: Transnational Publishers, 2005), Robert Currie

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Both domestic and international laws regarding the extradition of fugitive criminal offenders are in a state of flux throughout the world. The current legal landscape reflects tension between the interest of state authorities in promoting “security,” on the one hand, and increasing recognition that human rights obligations are at play, on the other. Gary Botting’s book, Extradition Between Canada and the United States, successfully addresses this tension by way of a detailed examination of what is probably the most integrated extradition partnership outside the European Union.

Uncovering The Presumption Of Factual Innocence In Canadian Law, Mark Herrema

Dalhousie Law Journal

The presumption of innocence has long been regarded as a hallmark of our justice system. Rhetoric abounds and finding a more celebrated legal doctrine is difficult. For most in the legalprofession, the presumption of innocence represents the procedural requirement that the Crown prove all elements of an offence. Yet, aside from its procedural and evidentiary protections, does the presumption of innocence offer any protection at the pre-charge phase of the criminal justice process? Specifically, for the majority of Canadians who have never been, or never will be charged with an offence, does the presumption of innocence offer any protection? Regrettably, …

Canadian Fundamental Justice And American Due Process: Two Models For A Guarantee Of Basic Adjudicative Fairness, David M. Siegel

ExpressO

This paper traces how the Supreme Courts of Canada and the United States have each used the basic guarantee of adjudicative fairness in their respective constitutions to effect revolutions in their countries’ criminal justice systems, through two different jurisprudential models for this development. It identifies a relationship between two core constitutional structures, the basic guarantee and enumerated rights, and shows how this relationship can affect the degree to which entrenched constitutional rights actually protect individuals. It explains that the different models for the relationship between the basic guarantee and enumerated rights adopted in Canada and the United States, an “expansive …

Anger And Intent For Murder: The Supreme Court Decisions In R. V. Parent, Joanne Klineberg

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

In R v. Parent, the Supreme Court of Canada recently held that intense anger alone is not, of itself, a defence to murder, although anger does play a role in reducing murder to manslaughter in connection with the defence of provocation. The Court's brief decision ignores twenty years of contrary jurisprudence and fails to provide detailed reasons for its conclusion, resulting in uncertainty about the scope and application of the decision. In this article, the author explores the relationship between anger and intent for murder, and outlines some possible arguments the Court could have relied on that would have provided …

The Ideal Victim, The Hysterical Complainant, And The Disclosure Of Confidential Records: The Implications Of The Charter For Sexual Assault Law, Lise Gotell

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This article explores the current state of Canadian law on the production and disclosure of complainants' records to reflect upon the implications of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for Canadian sexual assault law and jurisprudence. Some scholars assert that the Supreme Court's decision in R. v. Mills, upholding section 278 of the Criminal Code governing access to complainants' records, constitutes an erosion of accuseds' rights and an unjustified compromise of constitutional standards. By contrast, this article demonstrates that R. v. Mills is a highly contradictory decision that can be read as creating an interpretation of section 278 that …

Comparative Jurisprudence On Participation Offenses: Joint Criminal Enterprise, Aiding, And Abetting In Jurisdictions For The International Criminal Tribunal For Rwanda, The International Criminal Tribunal For Yugoslavia, England (And Wales), Scotland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, And The United States, Cwru Law

War Crimes Memoranda

No abstract provided.

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 …

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.

Independence And The Director Of Public Prosecutions: The Marshall Inquiry And Beyond, Philip C. Stenning

Dalhousie Law Journal

The author describes the reforms to the prosecution system in Nova Scotia which were recommended by the Marshall Inquiry in its 1989 report, and reviews the extent to which they have been effectively implemented during the ensuing decade. He concludes that many of the objectives originally identified by the Marshall Inquiry in this respect have been substantially met, but that in some areas there is still room for improvement. Finally, he notes the absence of systematic evaluations of prosecutorial institutions and practices in Canadian jurisdictions, and that because of this, it is difficult to say whether the Marshall Inquiry's objectives …

Self-Defense: The Equalizer, David B. Kopel, Linda Gorman

David B Kopel

Experiments in tightening gun-control laws have eroded the right of self defense and failed to stop serious crime. Studies Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

From The Ibpp Research Associates. Canada. Ismael Sambra, Ismael Sambra

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This articles discusses a declaration - Joint Declaration by the Committee of Cuban Political Ex-Prisoners and Cuba Friends and Cuban Canadian National Foundation Against The Laws That Persecute and Condemn Freedom in Cuba. - provided by Mr. Ismael Sambra, president of the Cuban Canadian National Foundation and Writer in Residence at York University, Ontario, Canada.

Of note: Mr. Sambra published "A Dictator's Errors" in IBPP (Author: Ismael Sambra, Volume 4, Number 25, June 26, 1998.)

Workplace Sexual Harassment In Singapore: The Legal Challenge, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Jack Tsen-Ta LEE

This article examines the nature and prevalence of sexual harassment in the work environment, and compares civil and criminal law in Singapore to the approaches taken by various jurisdictions in dealing with the problem. It is submitted that legislation is needed to protect employees, as Singapore law currently does not present any clear and coherent means for victims to seek redress for workplace sexual harassment.

Hard Cases, Carl E. Schneider

Articles

Robert Latimer was born in 1953 on a farm on the prairies of Saskatchewan and grew up to own a 1,280-acre farm. In 1980 he married, and that year Tracy, the first of four children, was born. During her birth, Tracy's brain was terribly damaged by lack of oxygen, and severe cerebral palsy ensued. By 1993 Tracy could laugh, smile, and cry, and she could recognize her parents and her siblings. But she could not understand her own name or even simple words like "yes" and "no." She could not swallow well and would so often vomit her parents kept …

Spousal Incompetency And The Charter, Hamish Stewart

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This article considers the effect of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms on the rule of spousal incompetency in criminal proceedings. The rule is arguably under-inclusive, in that it is not available to protect opposite-sex couples who are not legally married or same-sex couples; on the other hand, the rule is arguably offensive to the modem conception of marriage. The Charter arguments for each of these positions are considered, and it is submitted that the Charter requires the rule of spousal incompetency, whatever it is, to apply equally to legally married couples, to cohabitants, and to same-sex couples. A …

When The Constable Blunders: A Comparison Of The Law Of Police Interrogation In Canada And The United States, Robert Harvie, Hamar Foster

Seattle University Law Review

This Article explores the Supreme Court of Canada's use of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in limiting police interrogations and compares its case decisions with cases from the Supreme Court of the United States. Part II of this Article examines the purposes and policies underlying sections 10(b), 7, and 24(2) of the Charter. Part III then examines the application of sections 10(b) and 7 in situations where (1) suspects are interrogated by uniformed police officers or other persons known to be in authority, and (2) suspects are interrogated surreptitiously by persons not known to be in authority. In both …

Second Chances: Bill C-72 And The Charter, Isabel Grant

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This paper examines the legislative response to the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in R. v. Daviault. The author argues that Bill C-72, which limits the defence of extreme intoxication, is constitutional because of its strong underpinnings in equality. The author reviews the statistics on violence against women and the role of intoxication in that violence to illustrate why the defence of intoxication raises issues of sex equality. The author argues that a court assessing the constitutionality of Bill C-72 should consider this strong foundation in equality and the fact that the Bill is the result of a careful balancing …

Proportionality As A Guiding Principle In Young Offender Dispositions, Paul Riley

Dalhousie Law Journal

Sentencing is traditionally regarded as one of the most difficult and challenging functions of the criminal justice system. In arriving at the appropriate sanction to be imposed upon an offender, a court must reconcile the principles and objectives of the criminal law with the criminal act committed, the circumstances surrounding its commission, and the character of the offender who committed it. The court must, with the guidance of a few abstract, broadly philosophical, and often contradictory principles of sentencing, decide upon a sanction which is appropriate in the very concrete and factually specific case within which it is presented. This …

Conjugal Homicide And Legal Violence: A Comparative Analysis, Alison Young

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This article examines the defences in English and Canadian criminal law available to battered women who kill their abusers. The article sets out in detail the formation and evolution of the doctrinal interpretation, in English law, of the defences of provocation, diminished responsibility, and self-defence. Current case law is examined, including the recent cases of Thornton and Ahluwalia. The objective of the essay is to provide a critical context, namely the legal construction of the phenomenon of conjugal violence, in which we can see the current elaboration of these defences. The Canadian position is investigated, by means of a thorough …

Paedophilia: The Criminal Responsibility Of Canada's Churches, Dawn Russell

Dalhousie Law Journal

In the last few years Canada's churches have been plagued by sexual abuse scandals from Newfoundland to British Columbia. Members of the clergy and of lay orders across the country have been charged with, and convicted of, criminal offences involving the physical and sexual abuse of children. Mediareports and television documentaries have emphasized the tremendous scope of the problem of clergy paedophilia, the seriousness of the harm done to the victims, and the irresponsible and sometimes heartless behaviour of church officials who received reports of such abuse. These stories have shocked the Canadian public and have given rise to a …