Criminal
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June 07, 2024
Criminal Lawyers’ Association concerned about use of facial recognition software by Ontario police
Alarm bells are being raised by some in the legal community over the decision by two Ontario police forces to use facial recognition technology.
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June 07, 2024
Legal mind weighs in on N.B. inquest of inmate suicide
A law professor specializing in the rights of inmates is not optimistic recommendations made in the wake of a suicide at a New Brunswick prison will be adequately implemented.
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June 07, 2024
New innovator-in-residence at Ontario Bar Association
The Ontario Bar Association (OBA) announced in a June 5 news release that it had appointed Colin Lachance as the innovator-in-residence for the 2024-25 year.
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June 07, 2024
SCC rules on interplay of informer privilege & open courts in so-called secret trial case
The Supreme Court of Canada says no “secret” trial occurred during the in-camera prosecution of a confidential police informer in Quebec, but it has ordered 9-0 that a redacted trial judgment should be made public, which contains no information that might identify the police informer in breach of what the top court has previously described as the “extremely broad and powerful” informer privilege.
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June 07, 2024
Court of Appeal asks if trial judge influenced jury decision in criminal association case
Cosmin Dracea was convicted, along with others, for trafficking in cocaine and possession of the proceeds of crime. Along with the trafficking offence, an additional finding of guilt was for his association with a criminal organization called the “Ndrangheta.” It was the criminal association charge that led to Dracea’s appeal. The Ontario Court of Appeal handed down a unanimous judgment upholding the conviction on May 30, 2024 (R. v. Dracea, 2024 ONCA 440).
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June 06, 2024
Issue of trespass on university campuses less clear than it is for private property: legal scholar
In the wake of Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip in response to the Hamas terrorist attack on Israeli civilians last year, pro-Palestinian demonstrations have popped up on university campuses all around the world, including Canada, with post-secondary institutions grappling with a response — including removal of the protesters under trespass law. But whether any injunctions will be successful, or what powers universities — and police — have when seeking to remove demonstrators, remains an open one.
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June 06, 2024
EVIDENCE — Witnesses — Credibility — Prior inconsistent statements
Appeal by TC from his conviction for five counts of assault and one count of sexual assault and appeal from sentence of five years’ imprisonment. The heart of TC's appeal against his convictions was that the trial judge committed two errors which, in combination, compromised the fairness, or at least the appearance of fairness, of the trial.
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June 05, 2024
Proposed $6.75B class action lawsuit targets TD Bank’s anti-money laundering practices
A TD Bank shareholder has launched a proposed class action lawsuit against the bank over allegations that TD and some of its directors and officers misrepresented systemic deficiencies in TD’s anti-money laundering controls and the likely impact on its U.S. operations.
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June 05, 2024
B.C. law society consulting on proposed model code amendments to advance truth and reconciliation
The Law Society of British Columbia (LSBC) is inviting lawyers in the province to provide feedback on the Federation of Law Societies of Canada’s proposed model code of professional conduct amendments to advance truth and reconciliation.
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June 05, 2024
Provincial court judge rules ‘immediate and simultaneous’ filing of English rulings into French as invalid
Barely weeks after the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed the right to a trial in one’s official language of choice, a Court of Quebec judge ruled that a provision of the French language charter that calls for the “immediate and simultaneous” filing of English rulings into French cannot apply to criminal proceedings in the province.