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Full-Text Articles in Law
Constitutionalizing Abortion Rights In Canada, Joanna Erdman
Constitutionalizing Abortion Rights In Canada, Joanna Erdman
Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press
This article endeavours to understand the feminist activism from which constitutional abortion rights in Canada were born in the landmark Supreme Court case of R v Morgentaler 1988, and the influence of these rights on continued feminist activism for reproductive justice. Part I reviews abortion practice in the ‘back-alley’ prior to and immediately after the 1969 criminal reform with attention to the direct service activism of liberation feminists in their campaign to repeal the abortion law as a matter of constitutional justice. Part II turns to adjudication in the courts to study how judicial reasoning channelled these constitutional claims, exploring …
The Ethical Obligations Of Defence Counsel In Sexual Assault Cases, Elaine Craig
The Ethical Obligations Of Defence Counsel In Sexual Assault Cases, Elaine Craig
Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press
The treatment of sexual assault complainants by defence counsel has been the site of significant debate for legal ethicists. Even those with the strongest commitment to the ethics of zealous advocacy struggle with how to approach the cross-examination of sexual assault complainants. One of the most contentious issues in this debate pertains to the use of bias, stereotype and discriminatory tactics to advance one’s client’s position. This paper focuses on the professional responsibilities defence lawyers bear in sexual assault cases. Its central claim is as follows: Defence counsel are ethically obligated to restrict their carriage of a sexual assault case …
Introduction (Excerpt) In Justice Bertha Wilson: One Woman's Difference, Kim Brooks
Introduction (Excerpt) In Justice Bertha Wilson: One Woman's Difference, Kim Brooks
Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press
Bertha Wilson was the first woman to be appointed to Canada's Supreme Court in 1982. Her appointment capped off a career of firsts. She had been the first woman lawyer and partner at a prominent Toronto law firm and the first woman appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal. Her career and passing in 2007 have provoked reflection on her contributions to Canadian society and caused many to reflect on the question she herself posed: what difference do women judges make? What follows is an excerpt from the introduction to the book. The chapters of the book explore a broad …
Feminists, Angels, Poets, And Revolutionaries: What I'Ve Learned From Ruthann Robson And Nicole Brossard On What It Means To Be A Law Teacher, Kim Brooks
Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press
This short piece was written as a tribute to the contributions Ruthann Robson has made to legal pedagogy, and was presented at a Symposium in her honor held at CUNY.
A Feminist Exploration Of Issues Around Assisted Death, Jocelyn Downie, Susan Sherwin
A Feminist Exploration Of Issues Around Assisted Death, Jocelyn Downie, Susan Sherwin
Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press
Although a great deal of public attention has recently been focused on issues around assisted death remarkably little of it has come from an explicitly feminist perspective. This is a serious omission at a time when legislators are feeling pressure to review and perhaps revise existing policies on assisted death, and when the policies they contemplate may have a significant negative and disproportionate impact on women. We think it is essential that there be some discussion of these issues from an explicitly feminist perspective in order to ensure that concerns about the oppression of women become part of the public …