Although commonly assumed, the recent Court of Appeal decision in R. v. Robinson, 2009 ONCA 205 is helpful for expressly stating Gladue principles apply in judicial interim release proceedings.
The Court writes:
[13] It is common ground that principles enunciated in the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Gladue, [1999] 1 S.C.R. 688, have application to the question of bail.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Palestinian unity government?
If Clinton is right, and a two State solution is inevitable, the formation of a single government for the Palestinian Authority is critical. Such single authority could act decisively. We'll see:
Eyeing reconciliation, Palestinian PM resigns
Globe and Mail Update Sat, 7 Mar 2009 11:28 EST
Jerusalem — Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas accepted the resignation of his prime minister Salam Fayyad Saturday, a move that could pave the way for a unity government between the rival Fatah and Hamas parties.
But it remains in question if Hamas and Fatah will be able to resolve their differences — and if they do, whether Israel and the West will be willing to work with it.
Mr. Abbas said in a televised speech after receiving Mr. Fayyad's resignation, that he had asked the government to stay in office a unity government is formed.
Mr. Fayyad agreed.
James Morton
Eyeing reconciliation, Palestinian PM resigns
Globe and Mail Update Sat, 7 Mar 2009 11:28 EST
Jerusalem — Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas accepted the resignation of his prime minister Salam Fayyad Saturday, a move that could pave the way for a unity government between the rival Fatah and Hamas parties.
But it remains in question if Hamas and Fatah will be able to resolve their differences — and if they do, whether Israel and the West will be willing to work with it.
Mr. Abbas said in a televised speech after receiving Mr. Fayyad's resignation, that he had asked the government to stay in office a unity government is formed.
Mr. Fayyad agreed.
James Morton
Friday, March 6, 2009
Three years for two deaths
The result on the tragic freezing deaths of two little girls, three years, is clearly a compromise. The sentencing circle proposed no jail time; others suggested a lengthy sentence more like 8 to 10 years.
Three years take the convict to federal time which means, in theory, he can get day parole in six months. More likely he's looking at a slightly longer period but almost certainly less than a year.
If this is a terrible accident, albeit one for which he is culpable, then the sentence may be too harsh. On the other hand if this is seen as closer to intentional (or better yet, willfully neglectful) then the sentence is not harsh enough.
James Morton
Good piece from Saskatoon on not criminally responsible
Mental illness not criminal
By John Gormley,
The StarPhoenixMarch 6, 2009 7:01 AM
It should surprise no one that Vince Li has been declared not criminally responsible for the brutal killing of a fellow traveller on a bus near Portage la Prairie, Man., last summer.
From the beginning, the sordid tragedy had more to do with mental illness than crime.
Tim McLean, 22, who had offered Li an empty seat beside him on the bus, was beheaded and then his body defiled as Li began eating the remains.
McLean -- and it could have been any random person on the bus -- would never know the polite and unassuming stranger beside him was in the midst of a major psychotic episode and was spiraling downward, hallucinating and hearing voices telling him to kill or be killed.
Court heard that Li would not commit to appropriate treatment for schizophrenia, would disappear from work and often take long unexplained trips on buses.
Based on the facts of this macabre case and the evidence of two psychiatrists, the prosecution and defence jointly urged the judge to find Li "not criminally responsible," which replaced the old "not guilty by reason of insanity" provisions of the law.
This arises when an accused has committed the offence but, because of a mental disorder, is unable to know or understand what he was doing or is not able to understand that what he did was wrong.
The Li case is a clear example. Committed to a secure psychiatric facility, Li will be seen annually by a board that will monitor his treatment and may eventually release him.
In some cases, such as the Saskatchewan man who murdered nine members of a family at Shell Lake in 1967, Li could remain in a mental health facility for the rest of his life.
But in other cases, a patient is released back into the community with strict treatment guidelines.
Nothing will bring back Tim McLean. Treatment may bring back Vince Li. But an entire nation knows what peril there is should Li ever fall again
By John Gormley,
The StarPhoenixMarch 6, 2009 7:01 AM
It should surprise no one that Vince Li has been declared not criminally responsible for the brutal killing of a fellow traveller on a bus near Portage la Prairie, Man., last summer.
From the beginning, the sordid tragedy had more to do with mental illness than crime.
Tim McLean, 22, who had offered Li an empty seat beside him on the bus, was beheaded and then his body defiled as Li began eating the remains.
McLean -- and it could have been any random person on the bus -- would never know the polite and unassuming stranger beside him was in the midst of a major psychotic episode and was spiraling downward, hallucinating and hearing voices telling him to kill or be killed.
Court heard that Li would not commit to appropriate treatment for schizophrenia, would disappear from work and often take long unexplained trips on buses.
Based on the facts of this macabre case and the evidence of two psychiatrists, the prosecution and defence jointly urged the judge to find Li "not criminally responsible," which replaced the old "not guilty by reason of insanity" provisions of the law.
This arises when an accused has committed the offence but, because of a mental disorder, is unable to know or understand what he was doing or is not able to understand that what he did was wrong.
The Li case is a clear example. Committed to a secure psychiatric facility, Li will be seen annually by a board that will monitor his treatment and may eventually release him.
In some cases, such as the Saskatchewan man who murdered nine members of a family at Shell Lake in 1967, Li could remain in a mental health facility for the rest of his life.
But in other cases, a patient is released back into the community with strict treatment guidelines.
Nothing will bring back Tim McLean. Treatment may bring back Vince Li. But an entire nation knows what peril there is should Li ever fall again
Pay equity
The passage below from today's Ottawa Citizen deals with the functional end of pay equity at the Federal level.
Attentive readers will recall that this was just about the only issue that seriously troubled me when it came to supporting the Budget.
I still see it as a real concern -- equal pay for equal work is not some leftist radical thing -- it's just fair play:
"Not Judy Wasylycia-Leis, though. For the veteran New Democrat from Winnipeg, the Commons vote in favour of the budget bill this week marked "the complete death of something we fought for 30 years ago. I never thought we'd lose something that fundamental, just overnight, in one fell swoop."
She is talking about federal pay equity -- an ambitious, complex and unfinished attempt to ensure women in female-dominated occupations in the public sector are not underpaid compared to male colleagues in similar, but male-dominated, jobs. It is an attempt to eliminate "pink ghettos," or obvious inequalities -- mostly-women librarians, for instance, being paid less that mostly-male archivists, notwithstanding similar education levels and responsibilities.
It hasn't been an unalloyed success.
Overall, women still earn 70 per cent less than men in Ontario, for instance, which has had pay equity legislation for 20 years.
Nor is there parity across the country. Some provinces like Manitoba and Ontario have their own pay equity laws, most don't. And private sector workers are mostly not covered.
Then there is the painfully slow process of achieving justice. Under the federal system, complaints are heard by the Canadian Human Rights Commission. Bell Canada workers have been waiting 15 years for a verdict, Air Canada's female employees about 17 years and a case involving Canada Post has dragged on 25 years.
Some delay is inevitable: employers fight fiercely because restitution can be costly; it can be contentious and time-consuming to compare job categories; and human rights commissions have developed a reputation for being plodding nit-pickers. But even supporters of pay equity concede the current system is seriously flawed. "
James Morton
Tory fails to get a seat!
"John Tory's stunning loss in last night's byelection has thrown into doubt the political future of Ontario's embattled Progressive Conservative leader. Mr. Tory suffered a narrow defeat ... ".
I read these words with amazement. It's hard to believe he lost, especially a 'safe' seat like that one.
It's pretty well over for John Tory, and that's a shame. Of the Conservative leaders in Canada today he is consistently the most humane and sensible -- indeed, he is a very decent man regardless of Party affiliation.
And perhaps I am wrong about his future? He has battled back before and, candidly, who is there to replace him?
But gosh -- what a blow.
James Morton
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Domestic violence
Watching Larry King (not always a source of criminal law precedents) I learned that the US Supreme Court recently barred the use of statements by a victim of domestic violence in a trial for domestic assault.
So, if the personal assaulted complained to the police and then decided not to testify or, more likely, to say 'I don't recall', the prosecution collapses.
In Canada such statements are commonly admitted (they are called KGB Statements -- after a case and not the Soviet internal police). It is common for someone to be convicted of domestic violence even if the victim refused to testify.
James Morton
Don't use the Middle East to divide Canada
Michael Ignatieff, National Post Published: Thursday, March 05, 2009
Throughout our history, Canadians have strived to understand each other across the solitudes that have broken other countries to pieces. Our common national purpose has been built on our diversity.
We respect differences -- of opinion, nationality, race and creed. We abandon that respect at our peril.
Throughout our history, Canadians have strived to understand each other across the solitudes that have broken other countries to pieces. Our common national purpose has been built on our diversity.
We respect differences -- of opinion, nationality, race and creed. We abandon that respect at our peril.
"Israel Apartheid Week" (IAW), now underway on university campuses across Canada, betrays the values of mutual respect that Canada has always promoted.
International law defines "apartheid" as a crime against humanity. Labelling Israel as an "apartheid" state is a deliberate attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the Jewish state itself.
Criticism of Israel is legitimate.
Attempting to describe its very existence as a crime against humanity is not.
IAW is part of a global campaign of proclamations, boycotts and calls for divestment, which originated in the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance held in Durban, South Africa, in 2001. Like "Durban I," IAW singles out one state, its citizens and its supporters for condemnation and exclusion, and it targets institutions and individuals because of what and who they are -- Israeli and Jewish.
IAW goes beyond reasonable criticism into demonization. It leaves Jewish and Israeli students wary of expressing their opinions, for fear of intimidation.
No Canadian should ever have to fear for their safety in a public space because of who they are or what they believe. All Canadians should condemn any attempt to intimidate anyone in the legitimate affirmation of their beliefs and identity.
The Ontario wing of the Canadian Union of Public Employees has joined the chorus of denunciations of Israel on our campuses. The CUPE Ontario resolution passed last week to boycott Israeli academics is an unacceptable violation of academic freedom.
Canada enjoys strong academic, economic and cultural ties with Israel and Israeli institutions, and the Liberal party condemns the CUPE resolution in the strongest possible terms these relationships benefit both our countries. Collaborative research between Canadian and Israeli academics is mutually rewarding, and should be encouraged. The CUPE resolution is an attack on the free exchange that is at the heart of our university system.
The Liberal Party of Canada condemns the CUPE resolution in the strongest possible terms. I salute the others who have spoken out against the resolution, including my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the House of Commons, and CUPE's national president, Paul Moist, who has refused to support the resolution. I encourage all CUPE members, and all Canadians, to follow their example.
Israel Apartheid Week and CUPE Ontario's anti-Israel posturing exploit academic freedom, and they should be condemned by all who value civil and respectful debate about the tragic conflict in the Middle East.
Political leaders should also take care not to deepen the distrust between Canadian communities over the Middle East. Politicians who use the ongoing conflict in the Middle East as a wedge to divide Canadians for their own political gain can succeed only in accentuating acrimony and deepening tensions.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict evokes passionate disagreement. It should not damage academic freedom and it should not divide Canadian communities. We can move forward if we work together to promote the common objective of Canadian policy ever since 1948--a secure Israel living side-by-side in peace with an independent Palestine.
-Michael Ignatieff is the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and MP for the riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore in Toronto.
James Morton
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Stelco
I'm still in a bit of shock at the closing of the Hamilton steel plants. Is this the future for Canadian subsidiaries of foreign companies? Perhaps Canadian ownership rules are sensible? I thought them a bad idea but, then again, I though less government regulation of the economy was better.
James Morton
James Morton
Stelco Hamilton Closing Plant
Where is the Federal government on this? Moving the jobs to the US? This is truly awful.
Stelco mills to temporarily close, 1,500 jobs affected
U.S. Steel Canada, formerly known as Stelco, is temporarily shutting down its Hamilton mill and closing most of its Lake Erie operations, affecting up to 1,500 jobs according to the company.U.S. Steel has already laid off close to 700 of the 1,700 hourly employees in Hamilton, where it shut down its blast furnace in November.
"It's devastating for the community," said Bill Ferguson, leader of the United Steelworkers union at the Lake Erie operations.
"For the local people this will be quite a blow. This plant, Lake Erie, has never shut down in its history."
The remaining operations at the Hamilton plant, including its steel finishing lines and coke ovens, will now be closed as well, said Rolf Gerstenberger, president of the United Steelworkers union at the plant.
James Morton
Bashir charged
This is very significant
Court issues war crimes warrant for Sudan's Bashir
By MIKE CORDER, Associated Press Writer Mike Corder, Associated Press Writer
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. He is the first sitting head of state the court has ordered arrested.
The three-judge panel said there was insufficient evidence to support charges of genocide in a war in which up to 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million have fled their homes.
Al-Bashir's government denounced the warrant as part of a Western conspiracy aimed at destabilizing the vast oil-rich nation south of Egypt.
African and Arab nations fear the warrant will destabilize the whole region, bring even more conflict in Darfur and threaten the fragile peace deal that ended decades of civil war between northern and southern Sudan. China, which buys two-thirds of Sudan's oil, supports the African and Arab positions.
Court issues war crimes warrant for Sudan's Bashir
By MIKE CORDER, Associated Press Writer Mike Corder, Associated Press Writer
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. He is the first sitting head of state the court has ordered arrested.
The three-judge panel said there was insufficient evidence to support charges of genocide in a war in which up to 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million have fled their homes.
Al-Bashir's government denounced the warrant as part of a Western conspiracy aimed at destabilizing the vast oil-rich nation south of Egypt.
African and Arab nations fear the warrant will destabilize the whole region, bring even more conflict in Darfur and threaten the fragile peace deal that ended decades of civil war between northern and southern Sudan. China, which buys two-thirds of Sudan's oil, supports the African and Arab positions.
Perhaps this story can finally have an end?
Levy parents thankful arrest warrant was issued
By BRIAN WESTLEY, Associated Press Writer Brian Westley, Associated Press Writer 6 mins ago
WASHINGTON - After nearly eight years of waiting, the parents of slain intern Chandra Levy got what they were looking for when an arrest warrant was issued for the man investigators believe was responsible for her death.
Authorities said Tuesday that Salvadoran immigrant Ingmar Guandique, 27, would be charged with first-degree murder in the attack and slaying of Levy in a Washington park. He is expected to be brought back to Washington from the federal prison in Adelanto, Calif., where he is serving time for attacking the other two women, sometime in the next two months.
Levy's parents said in a statement given to The Associated Press that the development meant their daughter, who was 24 when she vanished, "can finally truly rest in peace."
"Thankfully the individual responsible for this most heinous and terrible crime will finally be held accountable for his actions and hopefully unable to hurt anyone else ever again," Bob and Susan Levy said.
The announcement was a long-awaited break in a case that has long stumped the city's police department and led to harsh criticism that the initial investigation was bungled because police missed leads and even searched the wrong part of the park for Levy's body. When the remains were found, they were so decayed police couldn't recover much evidence.
THE HONOURABLE JOE VOLPE, P.C., M.P. MEMBER’S STATEMENT CONCERNING “ISRAEL APARTHEID WEEK” MARCH 3, 2009
Mr. Speaker, under the umbrella of free speech, some groups are using University campuses like York to undermine the fabric of civil discourse with events they have entitled "Israel Apartheid Week".
Such events will inevitably sow discord, promote negative stereotyping and fuel hatred.
One might well ask what motivates groups like the Canadian Arab Federation, CUPE Ontario and CUPW in their endorsement and organization of Israel Apartheid Week.
The safety and security of Jewish students and their instructors will be unnecessarily placed in danger by these demonstrations, and Mr. Speaker, the cause of peace in the Middle East will not be advanced by eroding the principles of freedom in Canadian Universities.
I invite this House to join me in condemning these "Israel Apartheid Week" activities and in encouraging University administrations to take steps to stop antisemitism and the dissemination of hatred.
James Morton
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Not criminally responsible
Very few people are found not criminally responsible -- not guilty by reason of insanity.
That's because it is not a very palatable alternative to jail -- in effect the accused is held in a prison like setting without any time limit.
It's also because someone can be seriously disturbed and not be NCR. An accused has to be unable to understand the nature or consequences of his acts to qualify and almost no one ever does.
The accused, in the case below, by apologizing showed some evidence of not being NCR -- but that's a decision for the judge.
WINNIPEG -- Vincent Li believed he was acting on God's orders to eliminate "the force of evil" when he killed, beheaded and cannibalized a sleeping passenger on board a Greyhound bus last summer, a Winnipeg court heard Tuesday.
Dr. Stanley Yaren, who has worked closely with Mr. Li at the Health Sciences Centre, said Mr. Li was clearly suffering from a major psychotic episode as a result of schizophrenia at the time of last summer's attack. Mr. Li believed 22-year-old Tim McLean was going to "execute" him if he didn't act fast, said Dr. Yaren, director of forensic psychiatry for both the province and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. After killing Mr. McLean, Mr. Li thought he had to further decapitate and defile Mr. McLean's body for fear he'd come back to life to "finish him off," Dr. Yaren said.
Dr. Yaren, director of forensic psychiatry for both the province and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, is the sole Crown witness to testify in Mr. Li's trial, which began Tuesday morning with Mr. Li pleading not guilty to second-degree murder. Prosecutor Joyce Dalman told Queen's Bench Justice John Scurfield that lawyers have agreed on a statement of facts in the case, and that no witnesses to the slaying would be called.
The sole issue for Judge Scurfield to decide is whether Mr. Li should be held criminally responsible. Mr. Li's episodes of bizarre behaviour date back to around 2003 when he was picked up by police walking down an Ontario highway, believing he was "following the sun" after shedding most of his possessions, said Dr. Yaren. Mr. Li was briefly hospitalized in Ontario but received no further followup. ...
Mr. Li was treated at Portage hospital for several cuts, and told officers "I'm sorry" on numerous occasions. "I'm guilty. Please kill me," he added, the court heard. Mr. Li's lawyer is planning to call his own medical expert either later Tuesday or Wednesday.
James Morton
Comments turned on
For some unknown and unintended reason the "comments" section of the Mandatory Minimum post was blocked -- I have unblocked it.
Mandatory jail sentences good publicity, bad strategy
Mandatory jail sentences good publicity, bad strategy
James Morton
Last week a friend told me how her daughter's school went into lockdown because of a nearby shooting on a TTC bus. The shooting was almost certainly gang-related.
For two hours, 10-year-old children cowered beneath their desks while school doors were bolted and teachers anxiously imposed silence on the frightened kids. Despite door-to-door searches, the police did not find the gunman.
This dreadful scene is repeated across Canada as innocent bystanders fall victim to inter-gang rivalries.
In British Columbia there have been more than a dozen gang-related shootings in the last few weeks, and hundreds gathered last month in Surrey to protest the violence.
To meet a genuine public concern, the federal government has announced a series of tough anti-gang measures, including an expansion of the use of mandatory minimum prison sentences.
At first blush, such federal steps sound good – surely it makes sense to up the ante for gang crime?
The trouble is that mandatory minimum sentences, at least for the types of crimes related to gang violence, are more useful for publicity than for fighting crime. They don't hurt but they don't do much good either.
A detailed Connecticut study, following years of mandatory minimum sentences, found "that mandatory minimum sentencing laws achieve few of their stated substantive objectives and do not work."
There are several reasons for this.
First, most gang-related crimes do not lead to the charges associated with them, so the punishment for gang-related crimes is moot.
Second, even when appropriate charges are laid, the imposition of the mandatory minimum lies very much in the discretion of the prosecutor – one charge can easily be substituted for another, and gang-related charges can be replaced by non-gang-related charges in return for a plea of guilty.
Finally, and perhaps of greatest importance, most gang members live their lives with a very short event horizon; the threat of punishment a year or two in the future is dwarfed by the risks and rewards of day-to-day gang life.
So is there nothing to be done about gang crime? Must gangs run unchecked?
Of course not – but the solution to gang crime lies not in mandatory minimum sentences but in better community policing and property seizure.
Community policing is a results-oriented, community-based system that relies heavily on the co-operation of policing officers, volunteers and community members.
It is not cheap. Police move into the communities most affected by gang violence and, by establishing close ties to the community and learning the details of the players who live there, are able to identify, and charge, gang members involved in crime.
By bringing in other community members, alternatives to gangs are established and membership in gangs falls.
Too often police are seen as an outside force imposed on a community. Community policing eliminates this misperception and puts police where they need to be. Community policing changed the face New York, as the NYPD has recognized. In its words:
"Whatever gains we have achieved in fighting crime are minimized if the price is the trust and respect of the community we serve. If crime levels decline, but members of the community are reluctant to approach police for fear of a negative encounter, then we have not truly met our obligations to the public."
Cost is one problem with community policing, and, at least at first, it is also dangerous. It requires intensive police work, often in hostile environments. But such difficult work is a precondition to breaking gang violence.
Another helpful tool – and here both provincial and federal governments have been moving in the right direction – is the seizure of property obtained by crime. Gangs exist for several reasons, but a key element of gang life is money.
When money is seized and gangs are no longer a source of income, the gangs quickly fail. Straightforward and rapid seizure of gang-related assets chokes off an engine of gang life.
The federal proposals to increase criminal penalties for gang crimes will have very little impact on gang crime. A focus on the gangs themselves, and not merely punishment for a few gang members, is needed.
Such an approach will be costly, but it is the only effective way forward.
James C. Morton is a litigation lawyer at Steinberg Morton Hope and Israel in Toronto and adjunct professor and lecturer in evidence at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University.
James Morton
Last week a friend told me how her daughter's school went into lockdown because of a nearby shooting on a TTC bus. The shooting was almost certainly gang-related.
For two hours, 10-year-old children cowered beneath their desks while school doors were bolted and teachers anxiously imposed silence on the frightened kids. Despite door-to-door searches, the police did not find the gunman.
This dreadful scene is repeated across Canada as innocent bystanders fall victim to inter-gang rivalries.
In British Columbia there have been more than a dozen gang-related shootings in the last few weeks, and hundreds gathered last month in Surrey to protest the violence.
To meet a genuine public concern, the federal government has announced a series of tough anti-gang measures, including an expansion of the use of mandatory minimum prison sentences.
At first blush, such federal steps sound good – surely it makes sense to up the ante for gang crime?
The trouble is that mandatory minimum sentences, at least for the types of crimes related to gang violence, are more useful for publicity than for fighting crime. They don't hurt but they don't do much good either.
A detailed Connecticut study, following years of mandatory minimum sentences, found "that mandatory minimum sentencing laws achieve few of their stated substantive objectives and do not work."
There are several reasons for this.
First, most gang-related crimes do not lead to the charges associated with them, so the punishment for gang-related crimes is moot.
Second, even when appropriate charges are laid, the imposition of the mandatory minimum lies very much in the discretion of the prosecutor – one charge can easily be substituted for another, and gang-related charges can be replaced by non-gang-related charges in return for a plea of guilty.
Finally, and perhaps of greatest importance, most gang members live their lives with a very short event horizon; the threat of punishment a year or two in the future is dwarfed by the risks and rewards of day-to-day gang life.
So is there nothing to be done about gang crime? Must gangs run unchecked?
Of course not – but the solution to gang crime lies not in mandatory minimum sentences but in better community policing and property seizure.
Community policing is a results-oriented, community-based system that relies heavily on the co-operation of policing officers, volunteers and community members.
It is not cheap. Police move into the communities most affected by gang violence and, by establishing close ties to the community and learning the details of the players who live there, are able to identify, and charge, gang members involved in crime.
By bringing in other community members, alternatives to gangs are established and membership in gangs falls.
Too often police are seen as an outside force imposed on a community. Community policing eliminates this misperception and puts police where they need to be. Community policing changed the face New York, as the NYPD has recognized. In its words:
"Whatever gains we have achieved in fighting crime are minimized if the price is the trust and respect of the community we serve. If crime levels decline, but members of the community are reluctant to approach police for fear of a negative encounter, then we have not truly met our obligations to the public."
Cost is one problem with community policing, and, at least at first, it is also dangerous. It requires intensive police work, often in hostile environments. But such difficult work is a precondition to breaking gang violence.
Another helpful tool – and here both provincial and federal governments have been moving in the right direction – is the seizure of property obtained by crime. Gangs exist for several reasons, but a key element of gang life is money.
When money is seized and gangs are no longer a source of income, the gangs quickly fail. Straightforward and rapid seizure of gang-related assets chokes off an engine of gang life.
The federal proposals to increase criminal penalties for gang crimes will have very little impact on gang crime. A focus on the gangs themselves, and not merely punishment for a few gang members, is needed.
Such an approach will be costly, but it is the only effective way forward.
James C. Morton is a litigation lawyer at Steinberg Morton Hope and Israel in Toronto and adjunct professor and lecturer in evidence at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University.
150 km/hr over the limit!!!
OK, this is nutz!!!
TheStar.com - Crime - Man clocked at 250 km/h on Hwy. 400
March 03, 2009
Alex Cooper
Staff reporter
A man faces stunt driving charges after Ontario Provincial Police clocked him travelling 250 km/h on Highway 400 just after midnight.
"That's unbelievable," said OPP Sgt. Dave Woodford. "First of all, it's not safe. Secondly, he's not just endangering himself – he's endangering everyone else on the road. It's just completely insane."
The suspect was driving an Infinity G35 south on 400 near Finch when he was tracked with a laser around 12:30 a.m., Woodford said.
Police charged him with stunt driving, sometimes referred to as street racing, under the province's Highway Safety Act. He had his car impounded and his license suspended as a result of the charge.
Woodford said the man could face a fine of anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 if he's found guilty.
TheStar.com - Crime - Man clocked at 250 km/h on Hwy. 400
March 03, 2009
Alex Cooper
Staff reporter
A man faces stunt driving charges after Ontario Provincial Police clocked him travelling 250 km/h on Highway 400 just after midnight.
"That's unbelievable," said OPP Sgt. Dave Woodford. "First of all, it's not safe. Secondly, he's not just endangering himself – he's endangering everyone else on the road. It's just completely insane."
The suspect was driving an Infinity G35 south on 400 near Finch when he was tracked with a laser around 12:30 a.m., Woodford said.
Police charged him with stunt driving, sometimes referred to as street racing, under the province's Highway Safety Act. He had his car impounded and his license suspended as a result of the charge.
Woodford said the man could face a fine of anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 if he's found guilty.
Conrad Black marks one year in prison
Conrad Black marks one year in prison
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Conrad Black's first year in prison has been surprisingly pleasant as the convicted media mogul has managed to use his time in jail to teach and write, but he remains furious about what he considers the destruction of his media empire, a longtime friend said today.
Black, who on Tuesday will have checked a year off his 6 1/2 year sentence, has managed to make his time in prison not only bearable, but intellectually stimulating by using his skills to teach other inmates, write books and articles, read and learn to play the piano – an activity his mother didn't let him indulge in as a child, said friend Brian Stewart.
"I don't think in any way one would have predicted so positive a year, in terms of creative activity and mental occupation," Stewart said.
A year ago, he said, "it was still an unknown what he would be facing, and I think what has happened over this year is a pleasant surprise, in the fact that he's been able to utilize his talents and his drive in a creative way to the degree he has."
Stewart said Black remains optimistic about the possibility of clearing his name if the U.S. Supreme Court decides to hear his appeal – a decision expected by March 13.
Black is generally upbeat, on top of current events and keeps busy with several activities, including answering "an enormous" amount of correspondence.
He doesn't like to dwell on the tougher aspects of being in prison, because "he knows how damaging that kind of internal anger can be and he doesn't want to go there," Stewart added.
"But I wouldn't say for one second he's not an angry man: He's intensely disappointed and angry at the U.S. judicial system."
Black's biggest frustrations, he added, is what he considers the destruction of his former Hollinger International media group – now Sun-Times Media Group Inc. – since charges were brought against him more than three years ago.
The company, which in Black's late-1990s heyday ranged from the Victoria Times Colonist to the Montreal Gazette, the London Telegraph, the Jerusalem Post and a host of trade publications, has shrivelled into a rump of U.S. Midwest community newspapers around the tabloid Chicago Sun-Times.
"He believes he was railroaded by a preposterous prosecutorial system in the United States and that he remains an innocent person and is absolutely determined to prove his innocence," Stewart said.
Doug Pepper, Black's publisher at McClelland & Stewart, said Black's mood has been as good as it can possibly be under the circumstances and that he's making the best of his time.
Pepper has been dealing with Black as he finished his upcoming book, "The Fight of My Life," the second part of his memoirs. The book deals in part with Black's time in jail, as well as the trial and other challenges since his first autobiography was published in 1993.
"He's not only a really, really great writer, he adheres to schedule as well if not better than any writer I've worked with," Pepper said.
"He is certainly not letting this beat him or get him down."
Black's time in jail hasn't come without hardships like dreary living conditions and menial work, but he also hasn't had any trouble with other inmates or guards, and sees his wife Barbara Amiel Black as often as possible.
"There were a lot of unkind comments about Barbara and I hope it's been since shown that in questions of loyalty she's been quite remarkable," Stewart said.
In past interviews with The Canadian Press, Black has maintained he was doing fine at Coleman, which he called "a safe and civilized place."
"I am optimistic that one way or another, justice will prevail," he wrote at one point during is his stay.
Eric Sussman, the Chicago prosecutor who led the case against Black and is now in private practice, said he was glad to hear Black was making effective use of his time behind bars, but added that doesn't change the outcome of the trial or his reasons for prosecuting.
"I hope that while he is in there and doing things with his time, that one of the things that he thinks about are the shareholders of Hollinger Intentional," Sussman said.
"The things that killed that company were paying tens of millions of dollars in legal fees as Mr. Black fought the company tooth and nail and refused to accept responsibility for what he had done."
Sussman said he was also confident the Supreme Court would reject Black's request for an appeal, noting that four different judges that have thus far upheld the jury's verdict.
No one's expecting an early reprieve for Black, said James Morton, a Toronto lawyer who has followed the trial, noting the whole ordeal could have been avoided if Black had apologized at the outset and offered to repay back any money that seemed inappropriate.
His downfall, he added, was the tenacious way in which he held to his innocence.
"One of the things that any competent lawyers tells clients is that principles are too expensive," Morton said.
"You deal with the problem rather then the concept of justice in the abstract."
Black's former business associate David Radler was paroled late last year from a Canadian jail after serving 10 months of a 20-month prison term for fraud he received after he testified against Black.
Black never had the option of serving his time in Canada because he had renounced his Canadian citizenship to become a member of the British House of Lords.
Co-defendants Peter Atkinson and Jack Boultbee are both scheduled to be released from prison next year. Former Hollinger lawyer Mark Kipnis was also found guilty but sentenced to house arrest.
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Conrad Black's first year in prison has been surprisingly pleasant as the convicted media mogul has managed to use his time in jail to teach and write, but he remains furious about what he considers the destruction of his media empire, a longtime friend said today.
Black, who on Tuesday will have checked a year off his 6 1/2 year sentence, has managed to make his time in prison not only bearable, but intellectually stimulating by using his skills to teach other inmates, write books and articles, read and learn to play the piano – an activity his mother didn't let him indulge in as a child, said friend Brian Stewart.
"I don't think in any way one would have predicted so positive a year, in terms of creative activity and mental occupation," Stewart said.
A year ago, he said, "it was still an unknown what he would be facing, and I think what has happened over this year is a pleasant surprise, in the fact that he's been able to utilize his talents and his drive in a creative way to the degree he has."
Stewart said Black remains optimistic about the possibility of clearing his name if the U.S. Supreme Court decides to hear his appeal – a decision expected by March 13.
Black is generally upbeat, on top of current events and keeps busy with several activities, including answering "an enormous" amount of correspondence.
He doesn't like to dwell on the tougher aspects of being in prison, because "he knows how damaging that kind of internal anger can be and he doesn't want to go there," Stewart added.
"But I wouldn't say for one second he's not an angry man: He's intensely disappointed and angry at the U.S. judicial system."
Black's biggest frustrations, he added, is what he considers the destruction of his former Hollinger International media group – now Sun-Times Media Group Inc. – since charges were brought against him more than three years ago.
The company, which in Black's late-1990s heyday ranged from the Victoria Times Colonist to the Montreal Gazette, the London Telegraph, the Jerusalem Post and a host of trade publications, has shrivelled into a rump of U.S. Midwest community newspapers around the tabloid Chicago Sun-Times.
"He believes he was railroaded by a preposterous prosecutorial system in the United States and that he remains an innocent person and is absolutely determined to prove his innocence," Stewart said.
Doug Pepper, Black's publisher at McClelland & Stewart, said Black's mood has been as good as it can possibly be under the circumstances and that he's making the best of his time.
Pepper has been dealing with Black as he finished his upcoming book, "The Fight of My Life," the second part of his memoirs. The book deals in part with Black's time in jail, as well as the trial and other challenges since his first autobiography was published in 1993.
"He's not only a really, really great writer, he adheres to schedule as well if not better than any writer I've worked with," Pepper said.
"He is certainly not letting this beat him or get him down."
Black's time in jail hasn't come without hardships like dreary living conditions and menial work, but he also hasn't had any trouble with other inmates or guards, and sees his wife Barbara Amiel Black as often as possible.
"There were a lot of unkind comments about Barbara and I hope it's been since shown that in questions of loyalty she's been quite remarkable," Stewart said.
In past interviews with The Canadian Press, Black has maintained he was doing fine at Coleman, which he called "a safe and civilized place."
"I am optimistic that one way or another, justice will prevail," he wrote at one point during is his stay.
Eric Sussman, the Chicago prosecutor who led the case against Black and is now in private practice, said he was glad to hear Black was making effective use of his time behind bars, but added that doesn't change the outcome of the trial or his reasons for prosecuting.
"I hope that while he is in there and doing things with his time, that one of the things that he thinks about are the shareholders of Hollinger Intentional," Sussman said.
"The things that killed that company were paying tens of millions of dollars in legal fees as Mr. Black fought the company tooth and nail and refused to accept responsibility for what he had done."
Sussman said he was also confident the Supreme Court would reject Black's request for an appeal, noting that four different judges that have thus far upheld the jury's verdict.
No one's expecting an early reprieve for Black, said James Morton, a Toronto lawyer who has followed the trial, noting the whole ordeal could have been avoided if Black had apologized at the outset and offered to repay back any money that seemed inappropriate.
His downfall, he added, was the tenacious way in which he held to his innocence.
"One of the things that any competent lawyers tells clients is that principles are too expensive," Morton said.
"You deal with the problem rather then the concept of justice in the abstract."
Black's former business associate David Radler was paroled late last year from a Canadian jail after serving 10 months of a 20-month prison term for fraud he received after he testified against Black.
Black never had the option of serving his time in Canada because he had renounced his Canadian citizenship to become a member of the British House of Lords.
Co-defendants Peter Atkinson and Jack Boultbee are both scheduled to be released from prison next year. Former Hollinger lawyer Mark Kipnis was also found guilty but sentenced to house arrest.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Woman's right to testify in veil a religious freedom?
The right to confront a witness is ancient. But more, a judge's job in figuring out whether someone is truthful or not depends in large part on expression during testimony. In the end freedom of religion must be balanced against the right to a fair trial.
Woman's right to testify in veil a religious freedom?
TORONTO - The Ontario Human Rights Commission is arguing that a provincial court judge failed to recognize the religious freedoms of a Muslim woman when he ordered her to testify at a sexual assault trial without a veil known as a niqab. The government agency is asking for special permission to be allowed to intervene at a Superior Court proceeding hearing an appeal of the lower court decision because of its 45 years of "expertise" in the area of human rights.
"The commission can offer the court assistance and expertise in the area of accommodation particularly in relation to discrimination based on creed or religious belief," states an affidavit by Barbara Hall, chief commissioner of the human rights body.
The Superior Court hearing is scheduled to begin this morning in Toronto. The hearing stems from a ruling last fall by provincial court Justice Norris Weisman.
He ruled that the woman must remove the veil that covers everything but her eyes while testifying at the preliminary hearing of two men accused of sexually assaulting her.
Lawyers representing the two men argued they should be permitted to see the demeanour of the woman while she testified, as part of their right to a fair trial. The defence suggested that demeanour would help determine the credibility of the woman.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
Woman's right to testify in veil a religious freedom?
TORONTO - The Ontario Human Rights Commission is arguing that a provincial court judge failed to recognize the religious freedoms of a Muslim woman when he ordered her to testify at a sexual assault trial without a veil known as a niqab. The government agency is asking for special permission to be allowed to intervene at a Superior Court proceeding hearing an appeal of the lower court decision because of its 45 years of "expertise" in the area of human rights.
"The commission can offer the court assistance and expertise in the area of accommodation particularly in relation to discrimination based on creed or religious belief," states an affidavit by Barbara Hall, chief commissioner of the human rights body.
The Superior Court hearing is scheduled to begin this morning in Toronto. The hearing stems from a ruling last fall by provincial court Justice Norris Weisman.
He ruled that the woman must remove the veil that covers everything but her eyes while testifying at the preliminary hearing of two men accused of sexually assaulting her.
Lawyers representing the two men argued they should be permitted to see the demeanour of the woman while she testified, as part of their right to a fair trial. The defence suggested that demeanour would help determine the credibility of the woman.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
Class actions procedure inappropriate for constitutional issues
As a general rule class actions are an inappropriate vehicle for constitutional litigation. This point was clearly made in Roach v. Canada (Attorney General), 2009 CanLII 7178 (ON S.C.) where the Court holds:
[60] ... it has been accepted in previous cases that it is generally undesirable to use the procedure under the CPA to pursue claims for declarations of constitutional invalidity: Guimond, at page 361; Buffett v. Ontario (Attorney General) 1998 CanLII 14707 (ON S.C.), (1998), 42 O.R. (3d) 53 (G.D.); Perron v. Canada (Attorney General), [2003] O.J. No. 1348 (S.C.J.).
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
[60] ... it has been accepted in previous cases that it is generally undesirable to use the procedure under the CPA to pursue claims for declarations of constitutional invalidity: Guimond, at page 361; Buffett v. Ontario (Attorney General) 1998 CanLII 14707 (ON S.C.), (1998), 42 O.R. (3d) 53 (G.D.); Perron v. Canada (Attorney General), [2003] O.J. No. 1348 (S.C.J.).
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
No more payphones
It's actually quite frustrating. Cellphones are wonderful but a payphone is much clearer and easier to hear. However, I suppose the economics have destroyed payphones -- try to find one and you'll be surprised. They have all gone!
James Morton
James Morton
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Green Party -- a future?
The Greens are drifting; a more conservative party than most imagine, the failure to get a seat in the last election, together with the changes in the US, have many wondering if the Green Party has any good reason to exist. Perhaps it would be better to join the other Parties and seek change that way?
HALIFAX — Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said Saturday he intends to have candidates in all of the nation's ridings, including one in Nova Scotia where the Liberals did not run in the last election after a deal with the Green Party.
Mr. Ignatieff's predecessor, Stéphane Dion, made the deal with Green Leader Elizabeth May not to run a candidate in the riding, which was won by Tory Defence Minister Peter MacKay by a wide margin.
"I have respect for Elizabeth May but I'm running a national party and in a national party we have candidates in 308 ridings across the country," Mr. Ignatieff said prior to speaking at a dinner being held at the annual meeting of the provincial party.The Green Party, which had only one MP in the Commons before the election, failed to win a single seat in the last federal election.
Liberals in the province were critical of Mr. Dion for making the deal, saying it weakened support among party faithful. The former leader had argued it was important for the country to have at least one Green MP.
During a dinner speech delivered to party faithful, Mr. Ignatieff repeated his message that he will ensure there are candidates in every riding in what he expects will be an impassioned battle to defeat Stephen Harper's Tories.
"We will occupy, we will monopolize the centre ground of Canadian politics. We will push them off to the left, we will push them off to the right and we will hold the dynamic centre ground of Canadian politics," Mr. Ignatieff told the delegates.
He told delegates that he feared the Conservatives were attempting to replace the federal Liberals as a centrist force in Parliament.
James Morton
HALIFAX — Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said Saturday he intends to have candidates in all of the nation's ridings, including one in Nova Scotia where the Liberals did not run in the last election after a deal with the Green Party.
Mr. Ignatieff's predecessor, Stéphane Dion, made the deal with Green Leader Elizabeth May not to run a candidate in the riding, which was won by Tory Defence Minister Peter MacKay by a wide margin.
"I have respect for Elizabeth May but I'm running a national party and in a national party we have candidates in 308 ridings across the country," Mr. Ignatieff said prior to speaking at a dinner being held at the annual meeting of the provincial party.The Green Party, which had only one MP in the Commons before the election, failed to win a single seat in the last federal election.
Liberals in the province were critical of Mr. Dion for making the deal, saying it weakened support among party faithful. The former leader had argued it was important for the country to have at least one Green MP.
During a dinner speech delivered to party faithful, Mr. Ignatieff repeated his message that he will ensure there are candidates in every riding in what he expects will be an impassioned battle to defeat Stephen Harper's Tories.
"We will occupy, we will monopolize the centre ground of Canadian politics. We will push them off to the left, we will push them off to the right and we will hold the dynamic centre ground of Canadian politics," Mr. Ignatieff told the delegates.
He told delegates that he feared the Conservatives were attempting to replace the federal Liberals as a centrist force in Parliament.
James Morton
From today's Edmonton Sun
Iggy's Great Canadian Oilsands Tour hit Alberta again last week.
He said soothing things like: "here in the west is where the destiny of our country's economy will be played out."
Or better still, telling the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce: "the oilsands are an integral part of the future of Canada."
That's Iggy the political guy from Toronto. Not Iggy the hockey guy from St. Albert and Calgary. And there's a lot more where that came from when Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff takes to the podium these days.
He talks about reserves in the oilsands being a "huge Alberta advantage and a huge Canadian advantage."
(I guess he hasn't heard about the Alberta PCs' $25-million rebranding yet.)
Unlike other eastern Liberals, he has a humble side.
"In the past our party has fallen prey to the temptation to run against the West," he spat - applying the triple whammy to Pierre Trudeau, Jean Chretien and Stephane Dion, who all considered Alberta-bashing part of their political DNA.
They cynically tried to portray our hydrocarbon economy as Public Enemy No. 1.
"I realize how hard it will be to regain the trust and confidence of Westerners," Ignatieff sighed - the results of the last election where the Libs were all but shut out in the west being the proof.
Whether a few stump speeches and a half-hearted apology will turn the tide is doubtful. Actions speak louder than words and the Ottawa Liberals have done or threatened enough nasty things over the years to lose the trust factor with large numbers of Albertans.
Ignatieff seemed to be doing a better job at defending the province's economic interests than even Premier Ed Stelmach at times.
He said soothing things like: "here in the west is where the destiny of our country's economy will be played out."
Or better still, telling the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce: "the oilsands are an integral part of the future of Canada."
That's Iggy the political guy from Toronto. Not Iggy the hockey guy from St. Albert and Calgary. And there's a lot more where that came from when Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff takes to the podium these days.
He talks about reserves in the oilsands being a "huge Alberta advantage and a huge Canadian advantage."
(I guess he hasn't heard about the Alberta PCs' $25-million rebranding yet.)
Unlike other eastern Liberals, he has a humble side.
"In the past our party has fallen prey to the temptation to run against the West," he spat - applying the triple whammy to Pierre Trudeau, Jean Chretien and Stephane Dion, who all considered Alberta-bashing part of their political DNA.
They cynically tried to portray our hydrocarbon economy as Public Enemy No. 1.
"I realize how hard it will be to regain the trust and confidence of Westerners," Ignatieff sighed - the results of the last election where the Libs were all but shut out in the west being the proof.
Whether a few stump speeches and a half-hearted apology will turn the tide is doubtful. Actions speak louder than words and the Ottawa Liberals have done or threatened enough nasty things over the years to lose the trust factor with large numbers of Albertans.
Ignatieff seemed to be doing a better job at defending the province's economic interests than even Premier Ed Stelmach at times.
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