The Docket

So, episode 131 – a new record. But you know that right? Because you subscribe to the show and have already rated and reviewed the podcast – right? You should.

After a holiday hiatus the Docket returns to discuss the racist and extremist "trucker" protest in Ottawa and a bizarre and troubling story about an Ottawa Crown Attorney who was on the same soccer team as a key juror in a murder trial he was prosecuting.

Remember, you can self-isolate in The Docket’s Discord chatroom.  Join the Discord channel, take part in the ongoing chat, and listen to live recordings with this link: https://discord.gg/2TzUamZ

And as always, a huge thanks to my firm Abergel Goldstein & Partners who have not murdered me for editing the podcast at work!

Subscribe to The Docket on iTunes to get the latest episode pumped straight into your earbuds. If you like the show your subscriptions, comments and ratings really help us (so do that and then do it on your friends computer too).

Emilie Taman on Twitter: @EmilieTaman

Michael Spratt on Twitter: @mspratt

If you like show spread the word.

Enjoy

So, episode 130 – a new record. But you know that right? Because you subscribe to the show and have already rated and reviewed the podcast – right? You should.

Last week the Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision in R. v. Morris, considering how sentencing courts should take evidence of anti-Black racism into account on sentencing. Although the Court of Appeal affirmed that racism is a relevant factor on sentencing, there were some questionable parts of the decision.

This episode we are joined by Reakash Walters, lawyer at Addario Law Group, award winning podcaster, and soon to be Supreme Court law clerk to break down the Court of Appeal's decision.

A huge thanks to Emond Publishing for supporting the podcast. For our listeners, Emond is offering 15% off Modern Criminal Evidence for our listeners. Just visit emond.ca/docket and enter code DOCKET15 at checkout.

Remember, you can self-isolate in The Docket’s Discord chatroom.  Join the Discord channel, take part in the ongoing chat, and listen to live recordings with this link: https://discord.gg/2TzUamZ

And as always, a huge thanks to my firm Abergel Goldstein & Partners who have not murdered me for editing the podcast at work!

Subscribe to The Docket on iTunes to get the latest episode pumped straight into your earbuds. If you like the show your subscriptions, comments and ratings really help us (so do that and then do it on your friends computer too).

Emilie Taman on Twitter: @EmilieTaman

Michael Spratt on Twitter: @mspratt

If you like show spread the word.

Enjoy

So, episode 129 – a new record. But you know that right? Because you subscribe to the show and have already rated and reviewed the podcast – right? You should.

Is the federal government really fighting Indigenous kids in court?

Yes, they are. And they keep losing.

We chat with the amazing Anne Levesque about her work with Cindy Blackstock and the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society, who are fighting against the government's discriminatory underfunding of services for Indigenous kids.

This is a fight that has been ongoing for over a decade. Each time the Caring Society wins, the government uses every procedural trick and avenue of appeal to avoid its responsibilities. Most recently, the Caring Society won big in the Federal Court, where the government's application for a judicial review of a landmark Human Rights Tribunal compensation order for First Nations children was dismissed.

This is such an important case and the amazing advocates fighting for equality are heroes. You can help support the fight and donate to the Caring Society here: https://fncaringsociety.com/donate

A huge thanks to Emond Publishing for supporting the podcast. For our listeners, Emond is offering 15% off Modern Criminal Evidence for our listeners. Just visit emond.ca/docket and enter code DOCKET15 at checkout.

Remember, you can self-isolate in The Docket’s Discord chatroom.  Join the Discord channel, take part in the ongoing chat, and listen to live recordings with this link: https://discord.gg/2TzUamZ

And as always, a huge thanks to my firm Abergel Goldstein & Partners who have not murdered me for editing the podcast at work!

Emilie Taman on Twitter: @EmilieTaman

Michael Spratt on Twitter: @mspratt

If you like show spread the word.

Enjoy

So, episode 128 - a new record. But you know that right? Because you subscribe to the show and have already rated and reviewed the podcast - right? You should.

Remember, you can self-isolate in The Docket’s Discord chatroom. Join the Discord channel, take part in the ongoing chat, and listen to live recordings with this link: https://discord.gg/2TzUamZ

We were thrilled to be joined by the former Chief Justice of Canada and #1 bestselling author, Beverley McLachlin to talk about her new thriller Denial.

Tough-as-nails defense attorney Jilly Truitt has made a name for herself as one of the top criminal defense lawyers in the city. Where once she had to take just about any case to keep her firm afloat, now she has her pick—and she picks winners.

So when Joseph Quentin asks her to defend his wife, who has been charged with murdering her own mother in what the media are calling a mercy killing, every instinct tells Jilly to say no. Word on the street is that Vera Quentin is in denial, refusing to admit to the crime and take a lenient plea deal. Quentin is a lawyer’s lawyer, known as the Fixer in legal circles, and if he can’t help his wife, who can?

To WIN 1 of 3 Beverley McLachlin prize packs including: 1 signed copy of Denial & 1 copy of Full Disclosure, enter before 12pm EST on September 17. To be eligible you must be a Canadian resident, follow @simonschusterca and leave a review of The Docket Podcast on your podcast platform of choice. Send us DM at @mspratt once you’ve completed these steps!

And huge thanks to Emond Publishing for supporting the podcast. For our listeners, Emond is offering 15% off Modern Criminal Evidence for our listeners. Just visit emond.ca/docket and enter code DOCKET15 at checkout.

And as always, a huge thanks to my firm Abergel Goldstein & Partners who have not murdered me for editing the podcast at work!

Subscribe to The Docket on iTunes to get the latest episode pumped straight into your earbuds. If you like the show your subscriptions, comments and ratings really help us (so do that and then do it on your friends computer too) - Click Here.

Emilie Taman on Twitter: @EmilieTaman

Michael Spratt on Twitter: @mspratt

If you like show spread the word.

Enjoy

So, episode 127 - a new record.  But you know that right? Because you subscribe to the show and have already rated and reviewed the podcast - right? You should.

Remember, you can self-isolate in The Docket’s Discord chatroom.  Join the Discord channel, take part in the ongoing chat, and listen to live recordings with this link: https://discord.gg/2TzUamZ

A bit of a diversion this episode. We chat with the great Toronto Bluejays pundit and prognosticator Andrew Stoeten about baseball, the Blue Jays, MLB collective bargaining, and the election. OK, ok, it was mostly about the Jays but we did manage to shoehorn some legal adjacent content into the chat.

Check out Stoeten’s great new venture The Batflip, where you can read his words and find his great weekly podcast. And since we don’t ask for money, if you like what he does make sure you show him some support.

To WIN 1 of 3 Beverley McLachlin prize packs including: 1 signed copy of Denial & 1 copy of Full Disclosure, enter before 12pm EST on September 17. To be eligible you must be a Canadian resident, follow @simonschusterca and leave a review of The Docket Podcast on your podcast platform of choice. Send us DM at @mspratt once you’ve completed these steps!

And huge thanks to Emond Publishing for supporting the podcast. For our listeners, Emond is offering 10% off titles in the series. Just visit emond.ca/docket and enter code docket10 at checkout.

And as always, a huge thanks to my firm Abergel Goldstein & Partners who have not murdered me for editing the podcast at work!

So, episode 126 - a new record.  But you know that right? Because you subscribe to the show and have already rated and reviewed the podcast - right? You should.

It is our favourite episode of the year - the one where we answer questions from super smart high school kids. What impact has BLM had on the Ottawa police, is the Youth Criminal Justice Act effective, where is the line between deterrence and totalitarianism, and much much more!

Damn these kids are smart.

A big thanks to Brian Beard’s grate 11 law class at Colonel-By Secondary in Ottawa for the great questions.

And huge thanks to Emond Publishing for supporting the podcast. For our listeners, Emond is offering 10% off titles in the series. Just visit emond.ca/docket and enter code docket10 at checkout.

And as always, a huge thanks to my firm Abergel Goldstein & Partners who have not murdered me for editing the podcast at work!

Remember, you can self-isolate in The Docket’s Discord chatroom.  Join the Discord channel, take part in the ongoing chat, and listen to live recordings with this link: https://discord.gg/2TzUamZ

So, episode 125 - a new record.  But you know that right? Because you subscribe to the show and have already rated and reviewed the podcast - right? You should.

New documents reveal that an important federal justice reform, billed as a silver bullet reduce court backlogs and decrease racial inequities, has only been used FOUR times by the Ottawa Police.

In 2018 the Liberal government introduced bill C-75 which contained a provision designed to divert bail breaches away from the criminal system. The government said that judicial referral hearings would “substantially increase court efficiencies” and address the “overrepresentation of marginalized communities within the criminal justice system.”

Last week Ottawa police told the Police Services Board that over that last two years they have used the new procedure FOUR times.

It turns out that giving new discretionary powers to people who are part of the problem does not really do very much. Especially when they never use the new power.

And anecdotal evidence suggest this is not just an Ottawa problem.

So, what is the government going to do now that they know their solution to a very serious problem is not working?

Remember, you can self-isolate in The Docket’s Discord chatroom.  Join the Discord channel, take part in the ongoing chat, and listen to live recordings with this link: https://discord.gg/2TzUamZ

A huge thanks to Emond Publishing for supporting the podcast. For our listeners, Emond is offering 10% off titles in the series. Just visit emond.ca/docket and enter code docket10 at checkout.

And as always, a huge thanks to my firm Abergel Goldstein & Partners who have not murdered me for editing the podcast at work!

So, episode 124 - a new record.  But you know that right? Because you subscribe to the show and have already rated and reviewed the podcast - right? You should.

Her name is Morrell Andrews and she can finally speak publicly about being sexually assaulted.

Morrell Andrews wanted to speak out about sexual assault, but the court would not let her. So, she fought for her right to speak and had the publication ban that was imposed on her own name overturned.

Morrell talked to us about her journey thought the justice system. But trust me, this will not be the last her from Morrell. She is a strong and powerful advocate with some

Read her victim impact statement here: Victim Impact Statement

Read her statement on fighting the publication ban here: Statement: Hearing to Lift Publication Ban

And listen to episode 121 on the victim who was charged for identifying herself.

Remember, you can self-isolate in The Docket’s Discord chatroom.  Join the Discord channel, take part in the ongoing chat, and listen to live recordings with this link: https://discord.gg/2TzUamZ

A huge thanks to Emond Publishing for supporting the podcast. For our listeners, Emond is offering 10% off titles in the series. Just visit emond.ca/docket and enter code docket10 at checkout.

And as always, a huge thanks to my firm Abergel Goldstein & Partners who have not murdered me for editing the podcast at work!

So, episode 123 - a new record.  But you know that right? Because you subscribe to the show and have already rated and reviewed the podcast - right? You should.

This episode we do the impossible - break down the 700+ page federal budget in under 40 minutes!!

Kidding. In reality, we take a victory lap on the announcement of funding for a law reform commission and then taken a quick look at a couple of questionable justice line items in the government $100 billion budget.

Remember, you can self-isolate in The Docket’s Discord chatroom.  Join the Discord channel, take part in the ongoing chat, and listen to live recordings with this link: https://discord.gg/2TzUamZ

A huge thanks to Emond Publishing for supporting the podcast. For our listeners, Emond is offering 10% off titles in the series. Just visit emond.ca/docket and enter code docket10 at checkout.

And as always, a huge thanks to my firm Abergel Goldstein & Partners who have not murdered me for editing the podcast at work!

So, episode 122 - a new record.  But you know that right? Because you subscribe to the show and have already rated and reviewed the podcast - right? You should.

After months of ignoring the warnings of experts, Doug Ford, Ontario’s murder clown Premier, finally decided to take some steps to deal with the growing third wave of the COVID pandemic. But he did not close down super spreader workplaces, or legislate paid sick leave, or speed up vaccinations - no that all would make too much sense. Ford decided to give Ontario police forces the power to randomly stop people and motorists and compelled them to answer police questions.

It was a shockingly unconstitutional and ineffective expansion of the police state. Expanded police powers won’t make things better. Restricting civil liberties and legal protections won’t stop the spread of COVID.

It is all pure theatre from a government who, let’s be honest, doesn’t really care about these life and death issues.

This episode, we break down the first new regulation that gave police uncheck power, and then we break down the second just as bad regulation brought in to replace the first regulation following the totally predictable public outrage.

Remember, you can self-isolate in The Docket’s Discord chatroom.  Join the Discord channel, take part in the ongoing chat, and listen to live recordings with this link: https://discord.gg/2TzUamZ

A huge thanks to Emond Publishing for supporting the podcast. For our listeners, Emond is offering 10% off titles in the series. Just visit emond.ca/docket and enter code docket10 at checkout.

And as always, a huge thanks to my firm Abergel Goldstein & Partners who have not murdered me for editing the podcast at work!