Law Commons^™

The United States Should Take A Page Out Of Canadian Law When It Comes To Privacy, Genetic And Otherwise, Ashley Rahaim

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

Genetic information is intimate and telling data warranting privacy in public and private realms. The privacy protections offered in the United States and Canada vastly differ when it comes to genetic privacy. Search and seizure law mirrors the privacy gap in the countries, as well as their treatment of DNA database information.

This note explores the foreshadowing of the creation of genetic privacy laws and their varying levels of protection based on the way private information was treated by state actors through search and seizure caselaw, the creation of legal precedent, and the treatment of intimate personal data in the …

Are We Atoning For Our Past Or Creating More Problems: How Covid-19 Legislative Relief Laws Are Shaping The Identities Of Indigenous Populations In North America, Samuel Kramer

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

This student’s note will attempt to answer three questions: 1) How Canadian and American legal precedent affects the modern identity of Indigenous Populations? 2) How COVID-19 legislative relief continues to shape indigenous identities? and 3) Can a comparative study teach legislators about enacting legislation that withstands shifts in political climates?

Proving Intra-Racial Discrimination In The U.S. And Canada: The Room For Making The Artificial Distinction Between Genealogical Relatedness And Race, Martin Kwan

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

This article takes the role of the Devil’s advocate in order to question the judicial willingness to distinguish “race” from comparable notions. It suggests that, depending on the exact circumstances, a defendant can make an arguable case that the alleged intra–racial discrimination is motivated by perceived genealogical relatedness, but not because of belonging to the same “race.” Factually, the defendant claims to believe in being remotely genealogically related to the plaintiff. This is not unworthy of credence, because it is academically recognized that modern genealogy and root tracing can be an imaginative, forged exercise. Legally, this argument is supportable because …

Reproductive Privacy In The World: Critical Examination Of June Medical Services, L.L.C. V. Russo And Buck V. Bell, Kumiko Kitaoka

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

Using insights from Professor Stephen A. Simon’s Universal Rights and the Constitution, this Article argues that national courts should continue to assume an active role in the protection of privacy rights by giving due consideration to the nature of the privacy right in combination with the merits of the universal right theory. This Article then demonstrates that both foreign national courts and domestic state courts have recognized the right to procreate and key aspects of the right to abortion as fundamental rights.

Part II introduces the universal right theory, explaining why the theory is particularly relevant to the protection …

A "Reasonable" Expectation Of Sexual Privacy Inthe Digital Age, Moira Aikenhead

Dalhousie Law Journal

Two Criminal Code offences, voyeurism, and the publication of intimate images without consent, were enacted toprotect Canadians' right to sexual privacy in light of invasive digital technologies. Women and girls are overwhelmingly targeted as victims for both of these offences, given the higher value placed on their non-consensual, sexualised images in an unequal society.Both offences require an analysis ofwhether the complainant was in circumstances giving rise to a reasonable expectation of privacy, and the use of this standard is potentially problematic both from a feminist standpoint and in light of the rapidly evolving technological realities of the digital age. This …

Let’S Talk About Sexual Assault: Survivor Stories And The Law In The Jian Ghomeshi Media Discourse, Dana Phillips

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

The recent allegations against former Canadian radio host Jian Ghomeshi catalyzed an exceptional moment of public discourse on sexual assault in Canada. Following public revelations from several women who described being attacked by Ghomeshi, many others came forward with accounts of sexual violence in their own lives. Affirming feminist critiques of sexual assault law reform, many survivors drew on their experiences to expose the criminal justice system’s ongoing flaws in processing sexual assault cases. While some held out hope for the criminal law’s role in addressing sexual violence, most rejected its individualizing and retributive aspects. Instead, survivors emphasized the need …

On Being A Second: Grace Wambolt, Legal Professionalism And 'Inter-Wave' Feminism In Nova Scotia, Elizabeth Legge

Dalhousie Law Journal

Grace Wambolt was the fifth female graduate of Dalhousie Law School and the second woman to practise law in Nova Scotia. She was one of the relatively few female lawyers in Canada (up to the influx of the nineteen-seventies) who practiced law following the push by the first female lawyers for the elimination of formal barriers to practice. This paper examines the similarities and differences between the "firsts" and those who followed them, primarily by looking at the life of Wambolt and her letters and speeches preserved in the Wambolt fonds located in the Nova Scotia Archives and donated by …

Intimate Partner Criminal Harassment Through A Lens Of Responsibilization, Isabel Grant

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

Feminist scholars have demonstrated the gendered nature of intimate violence and the tendency to put the responsibility on women to avoid both sexual and physical violence (“responsibilization”). This article applies these insights to the context of intimate partner criminal harassment, which is committed overwhelmingly by men against former female intimate partners. Using criminal harassment decisions over the past decade, this article argues that the elements of the offence—specifically the requirements that the accused cause the complainant to fear for her safety, that this fear be reasonable, and that he intend to harass her—feed into the tendency towards responsibilization. Women are …

Momma Drama: A Study Of How Canada's National Regulation Of Surrogacy Compares To Australia's Independent State Regulation Of Surrogacy, Ailis L. Burpee

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Student Comment: “Love Is Patient, Love Is Kind”: A Comparative Study Helping The United States Reach Marriage Equality, Nicole Rush

University of Baltimore Journal of International Law

This paper evaluates same-sex marriage policies in three industrialized countries: the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Canada. In assessing the legislative and judicial history of same-sex marriage policies in each country, as well as other influential factors leading to these policies, this research helps to create a roadmap to reach a nationwide policy for the United States. By comparing the current history of the United States’ same-sex marriage policies to that of the aforementioned countries, it is possible to develop a plan to achieve marriage equality in the U.S.

Who Writes? Gender And Judgment Assignment On The Supreme Court Of Canada, Peter Mccormick

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This article poses the question: Now that women are receiving an increasing share of the seats on the Supreme Court of Canada (the Court), can we conclude with confidence that they have been admitted to full participation, with a mix of judgments—including the more significant decisions—that is fully comparable to their male colleagues? The author looks at the assignment of reasons for judgment on the Court over the last three chief justiceships, with specific reference to the relative rate of assignments to male and female judges. He finds that the male/female gap is more robust than ever, although he also …

"There's No Place Like Home" Doma Deportation: The Forced Expatriation Of Bi-National Same-Sex Couples From The United States To Canada, Anh "Annie" Nguyen

San Diego International Law Journal

This comment will focus on bi-national same-sex couples who are forced to expatriate from the united states to canada because of DOMA’s detrimental effects on their relationship. more specifically, part I focuses on DOMA’s constitutionality, effects on bi-national same-sex couples, and current legal challenges. Part II provides a historical analysis of the united states’ attitude towards same-sex unions before describing current legislation regarding same-sex couples. Part III describes canada’s recognition of same-sex marriage and support of immigration equality, comparing and contrasting the canadian approach with the united states’ approach. Part IV explains the current legal and financial issues that bi-national …

Bountiful Voices, Angela Campbell

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

Common portrayals of Canada's only openly polygamous community cast it as a space frozen in time, both socially and intellectually. "Bountiful," British Columbia is a sixty-five-year-old community comprised of followers of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). Many residents espouse plural marriage as a central tenet of their faith, believing that the practice leads not only to a good terrestrial life but, also, to facilitated entry into the "celestial kingdom." Visual and written accounts of Bountiful routinely present the women of this community as submissive, silenced, and isolated. Their traditional dress, and the number of …

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 …

From Mothers' Allowance To Mothers Need Not Apply: Canadian Welfare Law As Liberal And Neo-Liberal Reforms, Shelley A. M. Gavigan, Dorothy E. Chunn

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

In this paper we examine changes in the form and content of Canadian welfare law through a historical, feminist lens using the exemplar of mother-headed families. Our analysis of how the state dealt with sole support mothers in several provinces throughout the twentieth century reveals important continuities, as well as discontinuities, between the past and the present that have shaped and reshaped the lives and experiences of poor women and their children. In doing so, it helps to illuminate how they have been rendered "undeserving" or "never deserving" with the neo-liberal (re)formation of the Keynesian state in Canada.

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.

The Gendered Dimensions Of Social Insurance For The "Non-Poor" In Canada, Stephanie Ben-Ishai

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This article emerges from an exploration of the meanings of consumer bankruptcy in the current context of Canadian society, as well as the role consumer bankruptcy plays in shaping this context. Examining consumer bankruptcy through the lens of gender relations, the claim is made that Canadian consumer bankruptcy legislation, policies, practices, and accompanying discourses are implicated in the causation and perpetuation of the conditions of marginalization and subordination endured by women who experience long-term poverty. These women are affected not only in terms of access to the bankruptcy system, but also by the broader implications of the delivery of consumer …

The Charter, Equality Rights, And Women: Equivocation And Celebration, Diana Majury

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

In this article, the author examines some of the critiques made and some of the aspirations raised in the early days of the Charter by left/feminist/marginalized groups about the Charter, the equality guarantee, and the judicial decision makers. The author explores how these fears and hopes have played out with respect to Charter equality rights for women by looking at some of the sex equality decisions that have been made by the Supreme Court of Canada. The cases are discussed under the headings of reproduction, violence against women, family, employment, and socio-economic claims to explore how the sex equality analysis …

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 …

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 …

Safe At Home: Protecting Female Tenants From Violence, Lori A. Pope

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This article deals with the tension for legal aid clinics between a policy of not representing landlords and a policy of acting for abused women rather than their alleged abusers. Many women face violence where they live, which can jeopardize their tenancies. To combat the resulting legal problems effectively, clinics may need to work indirectly or even directly for landlords. Clinics ought also to consider lobbying for changes to legislation to allow tenants to take action directly against other tenants who threaten their safety. Parkdale Community Legal Services (PCLS), which led the way for other clinics in their adoption of …

An Analysis Of Gender In Admission To The Canadian Common Law Schools From 1985-86 To 1994-95, Brian M. Mazer

Dalhousie Law Journal

Using statistical data covering a ten year period, this study examines the issue of gender representation in admissions to first year law study at common law schools in Canada. After addressing three identifiable steps in the admission process-applications, offers and registration-the author concludes that while there has been progress and the gap has narrowed, the problem of gender inequality persists.

Granting Political Asylum To Potential Victims Of Female Circumcision, Gregory A. Kelson

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Part I of this article examines two cases. In one case, a United States immigration court allowed female circumcision as a defense to deportation. In another case, the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board granted political asylum after recognizing female circumcision as a form of persecution. Part II assesses the extent of protections currently provided for potential victims of female circumcision under U.S. asylum law and analyzes the factors that a court should consider when making asylum determinations. Part III recommends that gender should be added to the enumerated grounds for persecution under U.S. asylum law. This section provides a hypothetical …

We Can't Go On Together With Suspicious Minds: Judicial Bias And Racialized Perspective In R. V. R.D.S., Richard F. Devlin

Dalhousie Law Journal

In recent years it has been recognized that the Canadian judiciary has been drawn from only a relatively small cross section of the community, specifically privileged white males. As a result there have been calls for, and some action in pursuit of, appointment processes that are designed to diversify the bench in order to render it more inclusive. Gender and race are the two primary categories that are invoked as the benchmarks of diversity. While it would appear that numerically there seems to be some very modest progress towards the goal of achieving a more inclusive judiciary, significant qualitative, institutional …

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 …

Canadian Tort Law: A Review For The Nineties, B T. Hill

Dalhousie Law Journal

My purpose in writing this review follows from a tradition initiated by feminist scholars. My analysis of Canadian Tort Law. Cases, Notes and Materials begins with a survey of the casebook with commentary concerning its historical development as a casebook, focussing on instances where gender issues are raised. I then offer a critique concerning the lack of consideration and misappropriation of gender issues in the recently released 1990 edition of the casebook, using illustrative examples from the casebook and a selection of two feminists' critique of tort law. Some modest suggestions for improvement are made throughout the review, and the …

Gender Discrimination In The Common Law Of Domicile And The Application Of The Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms, Annalise Acorn

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

A married woman must take her husband's domicile at common law. This rule exists in five of Canada's provinces. It is argued that the rule violates the right to equality. It is further argued that, notwithstanding the Supreme Court's decision in Dolphin Delivery, the Charter must apply to common law rules governing the relationship between husband and wife. Such rules impose a status on the parties. Therefore, a commitment to respect for the autonomous choice of individuals does not support the conclusion that the rules should be beyond constitutional review.

Abortion Law In Canada: A Matter Of National Concern, Moira Mcconnell, Lorenne Clark

Dalhousie Law Journal

Canada's newest abortion legislation, embodied in Bill C-43, was defeated in the Senate on January 31st, 1991. The Bill sought to remedy the state of "lawlessness" which has existed respecting abortion ever since the decision reached by the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Morgentaler in January, 1988. However, this determination is incorrect. The law is quite clear: there is no criminal prohibition against abortion in Canada. This follows directly from the Court's holding in the Morgentaler decision that the old law, s. 287 (formerly s.251) of the Criminal Code, infringed a woman's right to security and liberty of …