The Docket

Today we talk about the CSIS data spying and lying to the court, the RCMP's power grab, and anal intercourse... yep the government in your bedroom. The Federal Court slammed CSIS for retaining massive amount of information secretly obtained from people who are not suspected of committing any crime. Big bother is watching - read the courts decision here. - and - The RCMP wants even more power and is using the media to scare Canadian's into handing over that power. I wrote about it for iPolitics. - and - Anal intercourse. It is illegal in Canada - well not really - but it is still in the Criminal Code. The Liberals plan to repeal the unconstitutional law - but it is the lowest hanging fruit. We wonder why the Liberal government is lacking leadership when it comes to Criminal Code reforms.

Canada has a new Supreme Court judge - his name is Malcolm Rowe and he seems pretty adorable. He is also an old white guy and his appointment was not without some controversy. The Liberal government has talked about a new era of transparency in the appointment process but all seemed more like a dog and pony show. Emilie was there to watch it all go down. In less awesome - but totally not surprising news - the Ottawa police are racist. Well they might just be systemically racist - but that is still pretty bad. Worse was the official response to a new study showing that visible minorities are pulled over more than their white counterparts - usually for no reason. We check out the study and throw some shade. In even less awesome news it turns out that Canadian jails are torturing inmates. They call it 'segregation' - 1,500 days alone, in a small jail cell, with the lights on a 24 hours a day - so ya - its torture. We check in on the troubling and heartbreaking case of Adam Capay. This is only the tip of the iceberg.

It has been a long time. Let's catch up: a new house, a new job, a day at Parliament Hill - oh and we put together too much IKEA furnature. No better time to discuss two strange local cases: an accused who seems to literally shit gold and the micro penis defence. We also break down the new Liberal legislation that will roll back the prior Conservative government's changes to the victim fine surcharge. The Conservatives made the surcharge mandatory. The Liberal's bill restores the judge's discretion to impose a fair surcharge - no more bad breaking fines for the homeless. A simple legislative change..... that took a year.

On September 15, 2016 an Alberta judge found Travis Vader guilty of the second degree murder of retired couple Lyle and Marie MaCann. Then the internet blew up - at least the legal corner that I live in. The verdict was televised - a controversial rarity in Canadian courts - and on live TV the judge made a massive mistake. Vader was found guilty based on a criminal law that has been unconstitutional and of no force or effect for a quarter century. This week we discuss the Vader verdict and the glaring judicial error. We also dive into the issue of cameras in court and throw some shade at the government for leaving zombie laws on the books. Law, Politics, and Murder - oh my!

Desmond Cole! The man needs no introduction - journalist, social activist, and civil rights crusader. Desmond Cole, author of the Toronto Life cover story “The Skin I’m In” about police discrimination against black men, won the National Magazine Award's Gold medal for Best New Magazine Writer. He has a bi-weekly column in the Toronto Star and a weekly radio show on News Talk 1010. Desmond was also the inaugural co-host CanadaLand Commons. So in the wake of yet another high profile death of a black man at the hands of the police - this time in Ottawa - we sat down to talk with Desmond about police accountability and transparency. In late July Abdirahman Abdi died in police custody. According to eye witnesses police beat a hand cuffed Abdi and stood by as he died face down in a pool of his own blood. The police did not administer CPR - instead they tried to confiscate cell phones from bystanders who were taking video. Abdi was unaramed. He was also black. Ottawa's mayor Jim Watson remaned silent for 48 hours (he was on vacation). And since then the mayor has attracted justifiable criticism for backing the police and shouting down those who demand increased police accountability and transparency. So there was a lot to talk about.

Senator Baker returns to talk about the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs' interim report: Delaying Justice is Denying Justice: An urgent need to address lengthy court delays in Canada. There is a problem with delays in the criminal justice system. Delayed cases harm: the innocent, victims, the community, and the quality of justice - memories fade, the innocent languish in jail, and victims are denied legal closure. So ya - delays are bad. The Senate's interim report identifies problems and more importantly looks for solutions. Senator Baker walks us through the findings. Oh - Senator Baker also flatters me and basically volunteers to be a reference for a judicial application. But seriously there is not a more knowledgable, intelligent, passionate, and affable person than Senator Baker. Emilie and I also talk about some other stuff too - but seriously - it is all about Baker!

There was so much to talk about we imposed time allocation - 10 minutes per topic. Breaking Making a Murderer news - a Wisconsin appeal court has just ordered a new trial in the Brendan Dassey case. Check out the full decision here and stay tuned for a full episode on this crazy decision! This episode we take a quick look at four topics: the new Supreme Court Appointment process, two recent terrorism cases, the sentencing of Toronto police officer James Forcilo for the shooting death of Sammy Yatim, and the Ottawa case of Abdirahman Abdi who died while in police custody.

Pokémon! Yes - there is a way to talk about Pokémon Go! on a legal podcast. Its not just click bate. Emilie and I also talk about our West Wing rewatch and minimum minimum jail sentences. We hate mandatory minimums and it turns out so did the Bartlet administration. We save real life for last. There was a new Supreme Court of Canada decision released all about the constitutional right to a speedy trial. We chat about R. v. Jordan and a brief history of section 11(b) of the Charter. It is more fun than it sounds - we even disagree a bit for once!

This week Emilie and sift through the legal and political news of the day and discuss a few topics: Penile Swabs, Cyber Bullying, Trinity Western, and the Ezekiel Stephan sentencing. The Supreme Court of Canada found that police have the power (without a warrant or any prior authorization) to take penile swabs from suspects - by force if necessary. In our view it is a problematic decision with far reaching privacy implications. We also discuss the case of Amanda Todd after a Dutch court ruled that a man suspected of cyberbullying the B.C. teen before she took her own life can be extradited to face trial in Canada. And by discuss I mean we totally steal the topic (and some audio) from Jesse Brown's podcast CanadaLand. Then we move on to the Trinity Western case. Can the Law Society of Upper Canada refuse to accredit a law school with discriminatory and homophobic policies - the Ontario Court of Appeal says YES. Finally we wrap up our look at the Ezekiel Stephan case. Ezekiel's parents were sentenced and one of them escaped jail - but maybe both should have.

This week Emilie and I jumped back into Marking A Murderer and gave one of Steven Avery's lawyers Dean Strang a call. Of course we chat about the Netflix documentary but we also talk about Dean and Jerry Buting's speaking tour, women in the legal profession, gun control, and much much more... Hey Ken Kratz - give us a call?