University students across the country held their breath this week when the Alberta Court of Appeal released its decision in Pridgen v University of Calgary, 2012 ABCA 139 [Pridgen]. While on its face, the case decides whether universities are subject to Charter scrutiny, and whether the University’s discretion to impose disciplinary sanctions on theses students was […]
The law of causation is scrutinized frequently in Canadian criminal law, frequently leading to its revision and redefinition; Canadian courts have often attempted to fine-tune approaches that enable the determination of causation. The enormous emphasis the courts place on this determination is reflected in issues of public policy. Even more important is the underlying philosophy […]
The NDP critic, Francoise Boivin, seemed rather ambivalent about the Bedford v. Canada (Attorney General), 2012 ONCA 186 [Bedford] decision, which was released by the Court of Appeal of Ontario in April of this year: "I'm not even sure that having the decision — having to rewrite some aspect of the Criminal Code — will have that […]
The Court Won’t Hear Court versus Church Earlier this week, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") refused to hear the case of Hart v. Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of the Diocese of Kingston, in Canada 2011 ONCA 728 [Hart]. While the church and the issue may be different, this case can be placed alongside Bentley v. […]
The Trial of a “Monster” is Over Despite claiming he is not guilty, a jury and judge have said otherwise. After being found guilty of a jury on all three counts of kidnapping, sexual assault causing bodily harm and first degree murder of Victoria (Tori) Stafford, Michael Rafferty was sentenced on Tuesday morning by Justice […]
One of the primary considerations that Canadian courts have dealt with when confronting issues of private international law is that of the choice of jurisdiction— whether the court in which the case is being brought in is the one that is legally entitled to hear it. If this is deemed so, the next consideration is […]
Any law student could probably tell you that it is the trial courts that determine matters of fact (who did it, how did he/she do it, when did it happen, etc.), while it is the appellate courts that review cases on matters of law. Whether a verdict is unreasonable is certainly a question of law. […]
The third question on my first year property law exam asked whether Canadian law classified body parts (organs, limbs and reproductive material) as property. Unfortunately for my class, Justice Russell of the Supreme Court of British Columbia answered that question on April 25th, 2012 in J.C.M v A.N.A. 2012 BCSC 584 - two short weeks after the […]
The trial of Byron Sonne is an intriguing case that has baffled the media since he was arrested aboard a bus in the lead up to the Toronto G20 summit in June 2010. Following his arrest, Mr. Sonne was detained and questioned for 14 hours. He was denied the opportunity to speak with a lawyer until […]
In February 2009, the British Columbia Court of Appeal lifted a stay of proceedings on Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia, 2007 BCSC 1700 [Tsilhqot’in Nation], meaning that the momentous claim to Aboriginal title over a large area in the interior of British Columbia will proceed to the province’s Court of Appeal. In 2007, Justice Vickers of […]