Introduction: The Flux of Law This article illustrates how quickly and remarkably the common law can adjust when judicial principles change and when new judges are appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. The common law is generally intended to endure. Judges describe what they do as not making the law as much as declaring […]
Whatever Happened to … The Law of Sniffer Dog Searches
When does a sniff amount to an illegal search? The Supreme Court of Canada recently weighed in on this question and the decision changes the law in Canada from what it had previously been. What was the law prior to the recent decision? Assume you are walking along the street or are on public transit. […]
Bench Press 38-2: Elderly Martyr
December 19, 2013 By Teresa Mitchell
Audrey Tobias is an 89-year-old peace activist who refused to fill out the 2011 Census because the results would be processed using software from U.S. military contractor Lockheed Martin. She was charged under the Statistics Act. She argued that forcing her to fill in the census would violate her Charter right to freedom of conscience […]
Sperm Donor Dad Case Update
May 30, 2013 By Teresa Mitchell
The BenchPress feature of the January/February issue of LawNow talked about the case of the British Columbia woman fighting to find out the identity of her sperm donor dad. She argued that her Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms right to equality under the law was breached by the province’s Adoption Act, because adopted children […]
Bench Press: Sperm Donor Dads Remain Anonymous
January 1, 2013 By Teresa Mitchell
A British Columbia woman who wants to know the identity of her sperm donor father has been turned down by the British Columbia Court of Appeal. She challenged the provincial Adoption Act, arguing that her Charter right to equality under the law was breached because adopted children could access information about their biological parents but […]
