As has been widely reported, the Hearing Panel dismissed all six of the charges against Mr. Sukonick and Ms. DeMerchant for conflict of interest stemming out of their representation of Hollinger International Inc. and related parties in, inter alia, the sale of Hollinger newspaper assets to CanWest. The hearing extended over two-and-a-half years, and necessitated …
Slaw – A Prosecutor’s Continuing Duty to Evaluate Evidence Read More »
Two months of ongoing criticism of the guilty verdict that sent Dennis Oland to prison — and of the character and motives of jury members who delivered it — is raising questions about rules in Canada that gag jurors after a trial, says Toronto lawyer Allan Rouben. Read the full article
Revelations that the Ontario government made payments to teachers unions with whom it was negotiating collective agreements raise an important question: Were the payments lawful? Read the full article
Section 649 of the Criminal Code makes it an offence for a juror to disclose “any information relating to the proceedings of the jury when it was absent from the courtroom that was not subsequently disclosed in open court.” This sweeping prohibition has prevented the public from knowing about the reasons for a jury’s decision, …
As of this writing, the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Hryniak v. Mauldin, 2014 SCC 7, has been referred to in 21 matters at the Court of Appeal for Ontario. Most of those are brief endorsements that do not warrant review. The significant references are set out below: King Lofts Toronto Inc. v. Emmons, …
The litigation Bar in Ontario received a major shock when Justice Janet Wilson decided, in the January 2014 trial judgment in Moore v. Getahun, that communications between counsel and expert witnesses engaged in the preparation of an expert report ought not to occur. The prevailing understanding had been that communication with an expert witness was …
There have been an outpouring of tributes to Edward Greenspan since his passing on December 24, 2014. There is not much that can be added, so it is Mr. Greenspan’s own inimitable voice that seems most worth recalling. What follows are extracts from an interview with Mr. Greenspan in the Spring 2009 edition of The …
The most recent edition of the Criminal Lawyers Association Newsletter, For The Defence, is devoted to the subject of advocacy. In an introductory note, editor Breese Davies laments the absence of direct feedback from judges on how an advocate might have better performed in an individual case. What could they have done differently? How could …
Tomorrow, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear oral arguments in a case that has the potential to make new law in the way that courts review the conduct of Crown Attorneys, and in the way that courts deal with claims for damages for wrongful convictions. The case involves Ivan Henry, convicted of sexual assaults …
Yesterday, I posted about the CBC/Canadian Media Guild collective agreement and how in my view it precludes Jian Ghomeshi’s lawsuit from proceeding in court. Mr. Ghomeshi’s remedy for the termination of his employment rests with the grievance process provided for in the collective agreement. As a Union member, Mr. Ghomeshi’s interests in the grievance process …
