Bill C-51 in Practice: Severe Implications for the Rights of the Accused

by: Allison Lee, articling student In our last post, New Law For Sexual Assault Forces Defence to Disclose Texts, we discussed the new regime governing the type of evidence that can be used by the defence, and ultimately how it may be used, following the introduction of new sexual assault provisions into the Criminal Code […]

New Law for Sexual Assault Forces Defence to Disclose Texts

by David Gildiner, Associate There is a new law of the land for sexual assault cases. The most significant changes introduced by bill c-51, which came into force on December 13, 2018, relate to what evidence can be used by the defence in a sex assault trial. The Defence has to Disclose Texts […]

Connaissez vos droits linguistiques dans les cours de justice

Texte par Tania Bariteau, Associée Préambule Le texte qui suit n’est pas un texte exhaustif sur les questions linguistiques dans le domaine du droit criminel. Au contraire, ce texte adresse seulement les questions posées le plus fréquemment sur les services juridiques offerts en français ainsi que sur les droits linguistiques d’une personne accusée d’avoir commis […]

The Aftermath of R v. Hart: The Consistent Admission of Statements Made during Mr. Big Sting Operations

By: Jordyn Benatar, Associate, Derstine Penman Criminal Lawyers No new friends! Despite recent changes to the law surrounding confessions elicited through Mr. Big sting operations, accused and suspected individuals must remain vigilant and suspicious of those who befriend them in an effort to elicit incriminating information. What is a “Mr. Big Sting Operation”? The […]

Do Police Need a Warrant to Access my Facebook Direct Messages?

by Keiisha Pillai, Articling Student Be careful what you write in your Facebook direct messages. Last month, Justice Bawden of the Ontario Superior Court released a decision, R. v. Patterson (2018 ONSC 4467), which suggests that when the direct messages sent on Facebook make up the action, or the “actus reus”of a crime, you do not have […]

Driving High in Ontario: Still Illegal

by Geoff Haskell, Associate, Derstine Penman Criminal Lawyers Chong asked Cheech more than 40 years ago, “Hey man – am I driving ok?” Back then it was illegal to smoke pot and drive. Today, it still is. In fact, impaired driving has been a crime since 1925. Although it was originally intended to deal with drunk driving, […]

We Need to Do More to Support Our Colleagues

By: Tamar Bitton, Articling Student at Derstine Penman I’m always asked why I decided to pursue a career in criminal law. “How can you defend those people?” or “How can you defend someone if you know they’re guilty?” are questions that I answer regularly. I welcome those questions. Why? Because it gives me an opportunity […]

Back to the Future: Statutory interpretation of section 119 and the Youth Criminal Justice Act

By: Adam Philip Newman, Associate, Derstine Penman Criminal Lawyers The Youth Criminal Justice Act(“YCJA”) was meant to reflect the understanding of Canadians that young persons involved in the criminal justice system have diminished moral blameworthiness when compared to that of adults. As such, the sentence imposed on a young person should be dealt with […]

Dirk Derstine Recommends Increased Jury Duty Pay

While speaking with AdvocateDaily.com, Dirk Derstine, President of the Toronto Law Association, recommends increased jury duty pay as well as psychological help. To read the entire article, please click here. According to CBC, the current compensation for jurors in Ontario is just $40 per day starting only on the 11th day of a trial, which increases […]

Harper’s Justice System

Use the link below to read Sean Fine’s excellent article “Steven Harper’s Courts: How the Judiciary has been Remade” (Globe and Mail). PUBLISHED JULY 24, 2015 UPDATED JUNE 5, 2017 Justice System Stacked? The article focuses on Stephen Harper’s misuse of the judicial appointment process to “stack the court” with Judges who are aligned with […]

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