Meow!

Ministry of Defence ends UFO team

I noticed the British MoD cut its UFO group after fifty years of funding. The MoD noted they saw no defence threats from UFOs and, in any event, had no capacity to repel invaders from Outer Space.

Perhaps the MoD has not been watching the more recent Dr Who series? Or attending UFO conferences in Vegas?

Aliens are already here and they have actually infiltrated the highest levels of government -- hmmn, perhaps that's why funding is cut off???

A small story that suggests a lot -- cutting an innovative rehabilitation program for women convicts

This is an odd story that (perhaps) offers insight into the attitude to prison of the current administration. (Make prison as awful as possible to discourage offenders). If so, the approach is stunningly self defeating because offenders who come out of prison with no rehabilitation or life skills are ... just going to commit more crime and go right back in.


Correctional Service Canada has pulled the plug on a unique dog training program at the women's prison in Truro, leaving its outgoing director distraught for the inmates, the dogs and those who benefit from the highly trained animals.

The Pawsitive Directions Canine Program at the federal Nova Institute for Women had jailed women caring for and teaching obedience to shelter dogs who were eventually paired with disabled clients.

Heather Logan, who has run the program under contract with the prison since 1996, said she told administrators in mid-November that she would retire in six weeks, but her trained replacement was in place to keep the program going.
Instead, she was shocked to learn that administrators had axed the program, lauded for its success in helping inmates learn highly marketable skills and for rescuing dogs from shelters so that the animals can help those with special needs.

"This is devastating," Ms. Logan said Thursday from her home in Upper Stewiacke.

"There are woman and dogs and children being hurt by this action."

For rest of the article:

http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1155894.html
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Ken Dryden

Before the Montreal Boston game tonight said today's Canadiens must make their own story.

He said it was time to stop thinking of the glories of the past hundred years. The future is to be made by today's players. History is to be remembered and honoured but not to be a substitute for what must be done now.

Good advice for the Canadiens and, perhaps, for others.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

More subway chaos

So, after a minor assault at Old City Hall I crawl to the subway expected the Red Rocket to shoot me north in the comfort and style one expects in the mid-Twentieth Century (hey, I am an old fashioned guy so that's A OK by me).

But ...

"Attention Subway patrons. Due to a personal injury accident at track level at the Bloor Station there is no service between Union Station and Bloor Station."

It's a long walk to Bloor...

James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Store owner admits lottery fraud

This type of fraud is far more difficult now. But the store owner must have been remarkably thick to think no one would notice his new-found wealth.

Store owner admits lottery fraud

http://m.torontosun.com/News/Toronto-et-GTA/12040061.1

A Toronto convenience store-owner admitted today he ripped off four lottery winners for a $5.75-million jackpot by claiming their winning Lotto 6/49 ticket as his own.

Hafiz Malik, 62, pleaded guilty to fraud over $5,000 in front of Madam Justice Rebecca Shamai for pilfering the lottery ticket, which belonged to Lorraine Teicht, Paul Carlisi and sisters-in-law Silvana Pincivero and Aurora Pincivero, all school staff workers.

Crown attorney Philip Perlmutter said the four victims played the same numbers for several years and Teicht checked their winning June 2004 ticket at Malik's store, Mike Lotto at 1507 Dupont.

Teicht, who bought the ticket in Orillia near her houseboat, handed Malik her ticket and he didn't tell her she was holding a jackpot-winning ticket.

Instead, Malik kept her ticket and then cashed it as his own at Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation offices.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Overheard at Old City Hall criminal court

"Hey, you got that all wrong. I got 32 convictions and you can't just come to court late. There are rules and you got to obey them".

James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Identity issues and reasonable grounds in Supreme Court

Today's Supreme Court decision in R. v. Burke, 2009 SCC 57(Que. C.A., January 19, 2009) (33031) deals with identity issues and reasonable grounds.

"A police officer arrested the accused without a warrant and, following a search incidental to arrest, found a bag of crack in the accused's pocket.  The arresting officer did not investigate the accused's claim that he was the brother of the person sought by the arrest warrant at the time of the arrest.  At the police station, however, the accused was confirmed not to be the person sought by the warrant.  The trial judge acquitted the accused on a charge of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, finding that, despite the resemblance between the accused and his brother, the officer did not have objective grounds for the arrest because he had not investigated the accused's claim of mistaken identity at the time of the arrest.  She concluded that the arrest was illegal, the subsequent search was unreasonable and excluded the evidence.  The Court of Appeal, in a majority decision, upheld the acquittal.  The issue in this appeal as of right was whether the trial judge erred in law by substituting a more onerous standard for the requirement of reasonable grounds that a peace officer must have in order to make an arrest without warrant pursuant to s. 495 of the Criminal Code." 

The SCC (5:2) dismissed the appeal. 

Justice Fish wrote as follows (at pages 1-2): "The decisive issue on the appeal is whether the trial judge erred in law, as the Crown contends, by substituting a more onerous standard for the requirement of reasonable grounds that a peace officer must have in order to make an arrest without warrant pursuant to s. 495 of the Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46. We are not persuaded that she did.  Rather, the trial judge concluded that the reasonable grounds required under s. 495 had not been made out in the particular circumstances of this case.  And her conclusion in this regard rests essentially on an appreciation of the evidence before her. The trial judge's reasons, delivered orally, explain in detail why she found the evidence of the arresting officer inconsistent, contradictory and wanting as to the circumstances surrounding the respondent's arrest." 
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Vitus at lunch

This is MY salad -- back off!

Hamilton Mountain Liberal Event

I wasn't there but it looks like a great time!

From today's Post

I'm not sure the salary range figures from the Province are widely understood. They reflect totals paid in a year which may or may not reflect actual annual salaries. Regardless:

Re: Ontario AG, Lawyers Agree To Legal-Aid Talks, Dec 3.

This excellent article on the discussions between the Ontario Attorney-General and criminal defence lawyers needs a small correction. Justices of the Peace have a uniform fixed annual income of $114,070. The Justices of the Peace with higher reported incomes received additional amounts for prior years' unpaid back salary, which made their one-year income appear higher.

James Morton, Toronto.

Reporter Shannon Kari responds:

While the 2009 base salary for Ontario Justices of the Peace is $114,000, more than 200 of them made over $150,000 last year. And the base salary does not include other benefits, such as vacation, allowances, pension and opportunities to earn extra pay.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Tiger cubs

Criticism of non-parties

Sometimes during a trial it seems as if a non-party has acted inappropriately.

The Court may then be required to make findings of fact that hold that non-party up to criticism. Of course, the non-party had no chance to explain what really happened. Accordingly a Court should be very careful about finding wrongdoing by non-parties.

Today's Court of Appeal decision in Butty v. Butty, 2009 ONCA 852 deals with such a situation. A lawyer was strongly criticised by a trial court and that lawyer intervened on appeal. The Court of Appeal cleared the lawyer's reputation and noted the problem could have been avoided had more care been taken at trial:

[20]         As a result of the reasons for judgment, Mr. Jaskot has suffered unwarranted personal and professional embarrassment.

[21]         This unfortunate situation could have been prevented in either of two ways.  First, when the trial judge realized at the end of the trial that there were two parcels of land rather than one, he should have used a procedural remedy to resolve his concern about the matter.  He could have – and should have – invited counsel to make submissions on the matter.  If necessary, the parties could have re-opened their cases, counsel for the respondent could have been given an adjournment to allow her an opportunity to deal with the matter or a mistrial could have been declared.  Second, when the trial judge expressed some concern about the matter at the end of trial, counsel for Ms. Butty should have made it clear to him that she was under no misapprehension that the farm property consisted of two parcels of land.  The suggestion that Mr. Jaskot's theory that the two parcels could only, or would only, be sold as a single piece of farmland in no way explains away these failings.  That theory could have been tested and challenged in the normal fashion.  It does not amount to an attempt to deceive the court into believing there was a single property at issue.

[22]         This court cannot truly repair the damage that Mr. Jaskot has suffered.  Having said that, its comments are intended to serve as an unequivocal statement that there was nothing improper in his conduct in this matter.  We regret what appears, on this record, to be unwarranted judicial criticism levied against him. 
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Suicide attack kills 19 in Somalia

I tried to comment but am at a loss for words. Somali are genuinely a peaceful people. They have been infected by the virus of radical faith. It's hard to say anything more. I have not been in Mogadishu for a long time; it looks like I won't be returning soon... .

Mogadishu, (Somalia): A male suicide bomber dressed as a woman attacked a university graduation ceremony on Thursday in a small part of the capital still under government control, killing up to 19 people, including three Cabinet ministers and three journalists.

The attack was a severe blow to a country long battered by war and underscored the government's tenuous hold on even a small area of the capital.

African Union peacekeeping troops protecting the government wage near daily battles with Islamic militants who hold much of central and southern Somalia and act so brazenly in the capital that the carry out public executions.
"What happened today is a national disaster," said Somali Information Minister Dahir Mohamud Gelle, who confirmed that the ministers for education, higher education and health were killed in the blast.

The ministers for sports and tourism were also wounded in the attack inside the Shamo Hotel, he said.

The assailants hit one of Somalia's most important efforts to extricate itself from anarchy and violence, explaining the presence of so many top government officials. The former medical students among the graduates came from only the second class to receive diplomas from the medical school.
The first class graduated a year ago. Before then, almost two decades has passed since anyone earned a medical degree in Somalia.

In the December 2008 ceremony, held at the same hotel, the graduates proudly hoisted diplomas into the air. This year, there was mayhem as the bomb went off among 43 graduates, their families and officials who were sitting on plastic chairs facing a small stage, leaving the dead and wounded in bloody heaps.

More than 40 people were wounded. Students and doctors were among the dead.
No group immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion fell upon the militant group al-Shabab, which has ties to al-Qaida, controls much of the country and has carried out past suicide attacks.
"A man who disguised himself as a woman, complete with a veil and a female's shoes, is behind the explosion," Gelle said. "We even have his picture."

Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television said its Somali cameraman, Hassan Zubeir, died. Two other Somali journalists working for local outlets also died, said Bashir Khalif, a reporter for the Somali government's radio service.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Smiles

Assessment of Wills accounts

The Court of Appeal for Ontario ruled today that the statements of account rendered by the lawyer in Wills are subject to assessment pursuant to the Solicitors Act. The lawyer had submitted his accounts for vetting and approval by LAO pursuant to a Fisher Order. The A-G paid all but the last account and obtained an Order assessing all of the accounts after the completion of the trial. 

Counsel funded or have been funded by a Fisher Order and have rendered accounts in the past 12 months are now subject to this ruling.

Thanks to Lawrence Ben-Eliezer for sharing this.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Internet luring

The Supreme Court decision in R. v. Legare, 2009 SCC 56 was just released.

 

The decision has made it easier to prosecute individuals who attempt to troll the Internet and lure children for sexual purposes. A 7-0 majority ordered a new trial this morning for an Alberta man who allegedly tried to lure a 14-year-old Ontario girl in 2005.

 

The Court said that overly narrow interpretations of Internet luring offences will harm attempts to keep the Internet a safe place for children to roam. It said that offenders need not actually meet or intend to meet their intended victims.

 

A summary follows:

 

A 32 year old Alberta man, who had claimed online to be 17, engaged in two private online "chats" with the complainant, a 12 year old Ontario girl.  Both private chats were sexual in nature, and the second included words uttered by both parties indicating a desire to engage in explicit sexual activity with one another.  During this second chat, the accused asked the complainant to e‑mail her photo to him.  She made two attempts, both in vain.  Later, the accused inquired about her age — "and u r 14".  The complainant replied that she was 13.  The complainant gave the accused her phone number; he, in turn, gave her his postal address.  The accused told the complainant that he would call her to "talk dirty".  He called immediately afterward and, in the second of two conversations, told the complainant — in coarse and explicit language — that he "would love" to perform oral sex on her.  The complainant hung up and there were no further calls.  The accused was subsequently arrested and charged, inter alia, with one count of "luring a child" contrary to s. 172.1(1)(c) of the Criminal Code.  At trial, the accused was acquitted, but the Court of Appeal set aside the acquittal and ordered a new trial, finding that  the trial judge misdirected himself as to the essential elements of the offence.

 

The trial judge, in acquitting the accused, adopted an unduly restrictive construction of s. 172.1(1)(c) of the Criminal Code and misapprehended the essential elements of the offence.  Section 172.1(1)(c) creates an inchoate offence consisting of three elements:  (1) an intentional communication by computer; (2) with a person whom the accused knows or believes to be under 14 years of age; (3) for the specific purpose of facilitating the commission of a specified secondary offence with respect to the underage person.  The focus of s. 172.1 is on the accused's intention at the time of communication by computer and that intention must be determined subjectively.  While sexually explicit comments may suffice to establish the criminal purpose of the accused, the content of the communication is not necessarily determinative.  The offender need not meet or intend to meet the victim with a view to committing any of the specified secondary offences. 

 

"Facilitating", in this context, includes helping to bring about and making easier or more probable.  Finally, it is neither necessary nor particularly helpful to recast the elements of the offence in terms of the actus reus or mens rea components.  In this unusual context, determining whether each of the essential elements of the offence constitutes all or part of the actus reus or mens rea of s. 172.1(1)(c) is of no assistance in reaching the appropriate verdict.  More particularly, forcibly compartmentalizing the underage requirement of s. 172.1(1)(c) — "a person who is, or who the accused believes is, under the age of 14 years. . ." — as either part of the actus reus or part of the mens rea, may well introduce an element of confusion in respect of both concepts. 

 

Finally, it is neither necessary nor necessarily sufficient for the impugned acts of the accused to be objectively capable of facilitating the commission of the specified secondary offence with respect to the underage person concerned.  What matters is whether the evidence as a whole establishes beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused communicated by computer with an underage person for the purpose of facilitating the commission of a specified secondary offence in respect of that person.

 

Sexual interference, sexual assault and Kienapple

Today’s decision in R. v. FNC (O’Donnell J, OCJ unreported) carefully reviews the law respecting Kienapple as it applies to charges of sexual interference and sexual assault.  The Court finds that sexual interference is the “more serious” charge and, applying Loyer [1978] 2 SCR 631, stays the sexual assault charge.  As these charges are often found together, and as SJM [2009] O.J. 1130 (CA) has limited reasons on the point, the FNC decision is of some importance.  The case will no doubt be on CanLII shortly but if anyone wants a scan right away I am happy to send it.

 

Flying Flocke

Classic Noel Coward

From the Stately Homes of England:

Though our mental equipment may be slight
And we barely distinguish left from right,
We are quite prepared to fight
For our principles,
Though none of us know so far
What they really are.

James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Loss of evidence prior to criminal trial

Today’s decision in R. v. J.P., 2009 ONCA 850 deals with the situation where relevant evidence goes missing prior to a criminal trial.  Assuming there is no suggestion of spoliation the question then becomes, does the loss of evidence justify a stay of proceedings?  The answer depends on the defendant establishing that the loss of the evidence has had the effect of prejudicing the defendant – absent such proof, there should be no stay.  The Court writes:

[4]              The loss of a portion of the complainant’s evidence occurred due to an unexpected and unforeseeable defect in one of the tapes used to record the evidence from the preliminary inquiry. There is no suggestion that the missing tape was deliberately destroyed or tampered with or altered in any fashion; nor is it suggested that the defect in question was part of a larger systemic problem that the responsible ministry was aware of but chose to ignore. As the trial judge himself observed, “it is a rare happening where preliminary hearing transcript evidence is lost.”

[5]              In the circumstances, the missing transcript cannot reasonably be attributed to “unacceptable negligence” on the part of the Crown. On the contrary, the Crown provided a satisfactory explanation for its loss.

[6]              That being so, in order to establish a breach of his right to make full answer and defence under s. 7, the respondent had to do more than show that the lost transcript was, in the words of the trial judge, “likely relevant and material” or “logically probative to issues at trial, including the credibility and reliability of the complainant.”  

[7]              An accused’s right to make full answer and defence is not automatically breached every time he or she is deprived of relevant information. Rather, as the Supreme Court stated in R. v. La (1997), 116 C.C.C. (3d) 97 at paras. 24 and 25, where the Crown has met its duty of explaining the circumstances of the loss of any missing evidence, in order to make out a breach of s. 7 on the ground of lost evidence, “the accused must establish actual prejudice to his or her right to make full answer and defence.”

[8]              That is not an easy task. Sopinka J. made this clear at para. 24 of La where he stated:

Thus, in extraordinary circumstances, the loss of a document may be so prejudicial to the right to make full answer and defence that it impairs the right of an accused to receive a fair trial. In such circumstances, a stay may be the appropriate remedy...

[9]              At para. 27 of the same decision, Sopinka J. made it equally clear that in most cases, the decision whether to stay the proceedings should be left to the end of the trial after all of the evidence has been heard. This court made the same point in R. v. Bero (2000), 151 C.C.C. (3d) 545 at para. 18.

 

Vitus -- a video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aApc1hYNZk&feature=player_embedded

A grand old bear!

Speaking at West Point can define a presidency

This is a war we have troops in.

Speaking at West Point can define a presidency

FDR, Reagan and Bush have used academy setting

Agence France-Presse
Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009

WASHINGTON - In June 2002 George W. Bush delivered a speech at West Point military academy that came to define his presidency. With the Afghan war still in the backdrop, President Barack Obama last night followed in his footsteps.

Mr. Bush travelled to the New York state institution months after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks to warn of a hard road ahead in the "war on terror" and to expound what would come to be known as the "Bush Doctrine" of preventive war.

"Our security will require all Americans to be forward-looking and resolute, to be ready for preemptive action when necessary to defend our liberty and to defend our lives," he told the academy more than seven years ago.

Ye s t e r d ay, Mr. Ob a m a travelled to West Point for a speech that may also come to define his presidency.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Ah, but to know when the tide is in our favour...

There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.

Teeth

New Zealand's only native land mammals were three species of bat

Now that's a curious factoid. The only land mammals in New Zealand were those able to fly there (or be carried there by humans).
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Zelig

Reading the news I saw someone described a Zelig-est. I thought to track that down to a favourite movie -- Zelig.

The plot is simplicity itself -- a man who blends everywhere but somehow remains apart.

Set in the 1920s and 1930s, the film focuses on Leonard Zelig, a nondescript man who has the ability to transform his appearance to that of the people who surround him. He is observed at a party by F. Scott Fitzgerald, who notices that while mingling with the guests, Zelig sings the praises of the affluent classes in a refined, snobbish accent, but while in the kitchen with the servants, he seethes with rage at the fat cats in a thick proletarian voice. He soon gains international fame as a "human chameleon".

Towards the end of the film Zelig is in Germany working with the Nazis before the outbreak of World War II. He comes home to America and wins Dr. Eudora Fletcher (Mia Farrow).

Surely the metaphor is obvious?

The face of Mohammed

Surfing the web I ran across a series of sites that showed picture of scenes in the life of Mohammed. In order to comply with the prohibition against actually depicting Mohammed, the artists showed him with his face blank or hidden.

This reminded me of a (now closed) synagogue in Hamilton known as the "bird-synagogue" because it had stain glass depictions of bible stories where the characters (Moses etc) were all birds so as to avoid any suggestion of making images that could be worshiped.

In this illustration we see the Prophet Mohammed (Turkish, 16th Century, painting on paper. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) in very long sleeves so as to avoid even showing his hands.

A necklace???

Breach of historic standard of care?

Today's important decision in Berendsen v. Ontario, 2009 ONCA 845 makes clear that the standard of care in historical tort cases must be established by evidence of the what was known at the time of the alleged tort. Evidence is required and the knowledge of today cannot be used to assess the conduct of the past.

The Court writes:

(b) Breach of the standard of care?

[58] A defendant's conduct breaches the standard of care, or in ordinary parlance, is negligent, if it creates an unreasonable risk of harm. In the words of McLachlin C.J. in Resurfice Corp. v. Hanke, [2007] 1 S.C.R. 333 at para. 6: "Liability for negligence requires breach of a duty of care arising from a reasonably foreseeable risk of harm to one person, created by the act of omission of another".

[59] From this quote, it is evident that foreseeability of harm is a crucial component of a breach of the standard of care. To succeed in showing a breach of the standard of care in this case, the Berendsens had to show that, back in the 1960s when Ontario deposited asphalt and concrete waste on the dairy farm, harm to the cattle from this buried waste material was a reasonably foreseeable risk. It is not necessary that the precise way the harm occurred be foreseen; but the risk of harm in a general way from drinking or not drinking the water had to be reasonably foreseeable to impose liability.

...

[61] For virtually every other finding that the trial judge made in her lengthy and detailed reasons, she cited the supporting evidence that she relied on. In contrast, her finding on foreseeability of harm is stated baldly without any supporting evidence. Instead, the trial judge wrote at para. 262: "There is also no evidence to suggest potential harmful effects of waste roadbed materials buried on the dairy farm next to a water course and close to the barn, residence and well would not be known to a reasonably prudent servant or agent of the Crown in mid 1960s."

[62] Of course, the Berendsens had the onus of showing that harm to their cattle from the deposit of waste material on the dairy farm was a reasonably foreseeable risk. And foreseeability of harm had to be assessed when the conduct in issue occurred, in the 1960s, not today when we know so much more about the risks of toxicity from waste material.

...

[64] What was needed was evidence of foreseeability of harm. Yet despite the voluminous amount of expert evidence called by the Berendsens, not one of their many experts testified about the known or likely harmful effects of buried waste material in the 1960s. The Berendsens conceded as much because, both in their factum and in oral argument, the only evidence on foreseeability of harm that they could point to was the evidence of Ontario's expert, Dave McLaughlin, of the Ministry of the Environment.

Pete Doherty sings Nazi anthem on stage in Munich

Pete Doherty sings Nazi anthem on stage in Munich...claims to have been just trying to fit in

Pete Doherty is either really dumb, or really unlucky, or both.

The hapless British rocker -- who is best known this side of the Atlantic for being a junkie who magically, somehow managed to date Kate Moss for a while -- had his set cut short in Germany after he made the very serious faux pas of singing the first verse of 'Das Deutschlandlied' on stage at the on3 festival in Munich. He was reportedly booed while singing the lyrics that are closely associated with the Nazi Party.

Diving

Cold or flu?

Here's a CBC site that shows the difference between a cold and flu, something sadly of relevance to me!!!:

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/01/12/f-coldflu.html

Not sure if you're coming down with a cold, the flu or just one of those 24-hour flu bugs that leaves you feeling nauseated?

Well, first off, that 24-hour bug isn't the flu at all. If it has kicked you in the gut, you probably have viral gastroenteritis — an infection caused by a variety of viruses that results in vomiting or diarrhea. It is often called the "stomach flu," even though it's not caused by any of the influenza viruses.

A cold and the flu share some of the same symptoms. But even a bad cold is pretty mild, compared to a bout with the flu.

No pill or herb will get rid of either — each is caused by viruses and antibiotics are useless against them. You can take things that might ease your symptoms, but there is no cure. Your illness will have to run its course.

A cold usually comes on gradually — over the course of a day or two. Generally, it leaves you feeling tired, sneezing, coughing and plagued by a running nose. You often don't have a fever, but when you do, it's only slightly higher than normal. Colds usually last three to four days, but can hang around for 10 days to two weeks.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Dangerous/Long Term Offender status

A judge determining Dangerous Offender or Long Term Offender status is entitled to very considerable deference. See today's decision in R. v. W.E.J.M., 2009 ONCA 844:

[56]         On the issue of hope and speculation, one must observe that because the dangerous offender/long-term offender hearing is conducted for the purpose of sentencing, it takes place immediately following conviction for the predicate offence and the order is made following the hearing. However, the evidence deals with what is likely to occur in the distant future, many years hence. One cannot know the future with certainty. More particularly, in cases such as this one where the prognosis for the reduction of the risk is dependent on the offender undergoing treatment while serving the determinate sentence, there can never be a guarantee that it will occur or be successful.

[57]         It is clear that the sentencing judge thoroughly reviewed all of the evidence. She was under no misapprehension or misunderstanding about it. She recognized that the respondent is an extremely dangerous man, who, without all of the treatments, therapies, and controls anticipated, will continue to be a danger. However, she was entitled to accept the evidence of the defence psychiatrist, Dr. Gojer, that the respondent is treatable within a definite period of time, that this treatment will cause his risk of re-offending to be significantly reduced, and that with the appropriate community controls in place, enforced by the legal system, the risk will be reduced to an acceptable level.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Polar bear life expectancy

Further to a query on an earlier post life expectancy in the wild can be as long as 30 years for females 20 years for males. In captivity, life expectancy can reach 40 years for both sexes.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Prosecuting John Demjanjuk

Does it make sense to put John Demjanjuk on trial?

That depends on why we have criminal trials.

Clearly Demjanjuk, guilty or not (and remember much evidence is a questionable Soviet origin), poses no threat to anyone. Rehabilitation as a goal is absurd -- he can't move without help. He'll surprise most if he lives through the trial.

If we have trials to rehabilitate wrongdoers and protect society from future wrongful acts by the accused, this trial is pointless.

But what about more general deterrence -- teaching people that, should they do wrong they will be punished? Again, the trial is a problem.

The vast majority of wicked camp guards escaped punishment and the idea that putting say one in fifty (more likely one in 300) in jail for the last year or so of life will deter the murdering thugs still on the loose in Congo (or wherever you care to look) is risible.

So what's left?

The need for community revulsion to be shown against a crime. This is the best (likely only honest) defence of the death penalty. Some crimes, it is said, cry out for punishment regardless of whether there is any other purpose to their prosecution. Does that justify the prosecution of Demjanjuk? Knowing that, at most, if guilty, he will get four hours and fifty two minutes for every individual he helped kill? Does that show revulsion?

Demjanjuk tried in Germany for Nazi death camp ties

89-year-old retired Ohio auto worker faces charges of being an accessory to the murder of 27,000 Jews at Nazi death camp

DAVID RISINGMUNICH— The Associated Press



A German court put John Demjanjuk on trial Monday to face charges of being an accessory to the murder of 27,900 Jews at a Nazi death camp and his lawyer immediately accused the court in Munich of bias.

The 89-year-old retired Ohio autoworker arrived in a wheelchair to face the final chapter of some 30 years of efforts to prosecute him, wearing a navy baseball cap and covered in a light blue blanket.

His attorney opened the proceedings by filing a motion against the court's judge and prosecutors, accusing them of treating the Ukrainian-born Demjanjuk harsher than Germans who ran the Nazi's Sobidor death camp in occupied Poland.

Lawyer Ulrich Busch charged that the case should never have been brought to trial. He cited cases in which Germans assigned to Sobibor – where prosecutors allege Mr. Demjanjuk served as a guard – were acquitted.

"How can you say that those who gave the orders were innocent ... and the one who received the orders is guilty?" Mr. Busch told the court. "There is a moral and legal double standard being applied today."

Mr. Demjanjuk was deported in May from the United States to Germany, and has been in custody since then. He could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

A doctor who examined Mr. Demjanjuk two hours before the trial began said his vital signs were all stable.

Mr. Demjanjuk's family, however, says he is terminally ill. His trial has been limited to two 90-minute sessions per day.

James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Farewell Lisa

Lisa, the grandmother of Knut, has died after a long illness. Farewell, Lisa...

Why would Tiger Woods stay silent?

Well, let's assume someone was assaulted by his wife.

And that someone is famous.

And he is found near by his car going in and out of consciousness.
And his wife hit him with a golf club because (true or false) she thought he was having an affair.

And that famous person doesn't want his wife charged or the laundry aired in public.

Should he talk to the police about the "accident"?

No.

The famous person can say anything to the media -- especially vague "the sky is blue" stuff. (The incident is a "private affair", "I love my family very much", "the incident is entirely my fault", gosh, there are many ways to say nothing).

But if the famous person talks to the police he must tell the truth or commit a criminal offence and lie to the cops. Either is bad -- and committing the crime (leave aside the morality) is dangerous because the truth may well leak out.

So, if the famous person wants to keep his wife -- and keep everything quiet -- then he is best to say nothing to the police. A single car accident with injuries to the driver -- no alcohol or drugs -- the worst that will happen is a careless driving charge.


Of course, this is all rank speculation

...


Tiger Woods: Wife went after him with golf club

November 29, 3:40 PM
Allentown Headlines
Examiner
Doreen Linder

In an ironic turn of events, Tiger Woods was not using a golf club, it was being used on him.  Woods, a figure who is usually only seen on the golf course, made headlines last week, crashing his car and sustaining injuries.  Rumors went flying as rumors of an extramarital affair said to be the cause of the accident and the reason that Woods was outside his multi million dollar mansion in his SUV at 2am Friday morning. 


According to TMZ.com, Wood's injuries were not caused by the accident but by his wife Elin Nordergren.  Nordgren went after Woods with a golf club after finding out about his affair.  In a statement, Tiger Woods said that what preceded the accident is a, "private matter."

Tiger Woods: Wife hit him with golf club
Tiger Woods: Wife hit him with golf club
Tiger Woods: Wife hit him with golf club

James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777

Sunday swim