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The Big Chill?: Contextual Judgment After R. V Hamilton, Richard Devlin, Matthew Sherrard
The Big Chill?: Contextual Judgment After R. V Hamilton, Richard Devlin, Matthew Sherrard
Dalhousie Law Journal
The tone and thrust of the Ontario Court ofAppeal's decision in R. v. Hamilton will serve to chill efforts by sentencing judges to tailor their responsibilities to accord with the recognized realities of systemic and intersectional inequality in Canadian society The decision presents an unduly conservative response to the judicial function question, and an understandable, if excessively cautious, answer with regard to the application of systemic, intersectional inequality issues in practice. Specifically, the decision underplays the overall remedial goal of section 718 of the Criminal Code by overemphasizing the particularity of Aboriginal peoples, and ignoring the specificity of especially vulnerable …
Deciding In The Heat Of The Constitutional Moment Constitutional Meaning And Change In The Quebec Secession Reference, Jonathon W. Penney
Deciding In The Heat Of The Constitutional Moment Constitutional Meaning And Change In The Quebec Secession Reference, Jonathon W. Penney
Dalhousie Law Journal
The Quebec Secession Reference addressed divisive issues with far-reaching implications for the Canadian constitutional order. Recently, commentators have called for a less traditional and more systematic approach to understanding the decision, and its place in the broader scheme of Canadian constitutionalism. Accordingly, this paper challenges the predominant narrative concerning the Quebec Secession Reference, which is largely judge-centred and shows little regard for the important historical, political, and popular forces so crucial to understanding the decision. The challenge is mounted through the work of Yale constitutional scholar Bruce Ackerman and his theory of constitutional moments. This paper uses Ackerman's criteria of …