How the Ontario Court of Appeal's recent decision affects driveway stops by police. A lot of accused individuals call lawyers, outraged, saying they were driving perfectly yet a cop pulled them over. But what many do not know until a lawyer breaks the news to them is this: the Ontario Highway … [Read more...]
One Edmonton Youth in Conflict with the Law: A Case Study
We have all been there at one point in time: young, insecure, and impressionable. You would do anything to fit in: wear the right clothes; listen to the proper music; dislike the right people and share the same opinions as all the cool kids. But what if the cool kids were the RCMP acting as … [Read more...]
Talking to the Police
The police are key players in the criminal justice system. “To prevent crime and to make sure that there is order in the community, police officers are given special powers to search, arrest and detain any individual who is committing, has committed or who is believed to have committed a criminal … [Read more...]
Viewpoint 39-1: Like hockey, Court’s ‘Mr. Big’ decision clarifies the rule book and the ‘code’
What are Canada’s pre-eminent cultural symbols? Hockey is surely a top contender. The values of the rink are deeply embedded in our broader social values. Another contender is our criminal justice system, which strikes a quintessentially Canadian compromise between individual liberty, and collective … [Read more...]
Bench Press 38-6: Limits to “Mr. Big” Stings
Police in Newfoundland suspected that Nelson Hart deliberately drowned his twin daughters but had no proof. They began an elaborate hoax to recruit Mr. Hart into a fictitious crime ring. After about 15 months of activity, it culminated in a meeting with “Mr. Big” who was presented as the head of … [Read more...]