LawNow is pleased to announce the creation of a new Department, called New Resources at CPLEA, which will be a permanent addition to each issue. Each post will highlight new materials at CPLEA. All resources are free and available for download. We hope that this will raise awareness of the many resources that CPLEA produces […]
Understanding the Criminal Trial Process
October 26, 2016 By Caroline Wawzonek
Some 20 years ago, a sexual offender broke into a series of homes in downtown Vancouver. Several of the victims visually identified Ivan Henry as the perpetrator based on an in-person line up, a photographic line up or when he was sitting as the accused in court. Given the similarities between the cases, Henry was […]
Technology Transforms Criminal Law
September 3, 2015 By Charles Davison
As with society in general, the practice of criminal law has changed significantly over recent decades as a result of the amazing growth and development of technologies which, until now, were only ideas and imaginings of science-fiction writers. The lawyer of 20 or 30 years ago would likely be startled to see some of the […]
R v Fearon : Can Police Search a Cellphone Upon Arrest?
September 3, 2015 By Christine Chong
Important Update: Please see the article by Juliana Ho about the Supreme Court of Canada ruling in R. v Fearon. The Supreme Court of Canada decided that the police search of Mr. Fearon’s cellphone did breach his Charter s. 8 right to be free of unreasonable search and seizure but decided that despite this breach, […]
Bench Press 39-5: Duress as a Defence to Murder
June 17, 2015 By Teresa Mitchell
For the first time in Canada, an appeal court has upheld the use of duress as a defence to a charge of murder even though the Criminal Code explicitly rules it out. The Ontario Court of Appeal outlined the factors necessary to support both a statutory and common law defence of duress, for people who […]
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