The Docket

So, episode 121 - 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.

I have never been so mad. So mad that I might have forgot to turn on the mic, so apologies if the recording quality is a bit meh.

Why so mad? An Ontario woman, who was the victim of a sexual assault, was arrested and prosecuted for violating a court order publication ban designed to protect her. Her crime? She emailed a copy of the court decision to a few friends and family members. Now she is a victim with a criminal record.

In March, as first reported by Gordon Paul of the Waterloo Region Record and then later amplified by the Toronto Star, the woman pleaded guilty to violating a court order and was ordered by a judge to pay a fine of $2,000 plus an additional $600 victim surcharge.

It is inexcusable that the woman’s lawyer plead her guilty and agreed to the imposition for a criminal record. It is disgusting that the Crown prosecuted her and asked for the imposition of a record. It is shocking that the police actually arrested her. It is all so so so bad.

This is what made us so mad. So buckle up, this is going to be a bumpy ride….

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 120 - 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.

Only a few days late, but there has been some COVID chaos at the Docket recording studio. We are all well, but one of us is on COVID house arrest.

This episode we talk about the latest attempts by Doug Ford and Doug Downey to change the way Ontario appoints judges - the Double Ds want to make it easier to appoint their friends.

And then we circle back to the tragic death of Colten Boushie, the young Indiginous man killed by Gerald Stanley. Following Stanley’s acquittal, the Boushie family launched a civil lawsuit against the RCMP and made a complaint to the RCMP oversight body, the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC).

This week the CRCC released its report into those complaints, concluding that the RCMP engaged in racial discrimination and illegal conduct But even more troubling is that it seems the RCMP destroyed evidence and maybe even obstructed justice.

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 119 - 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 are joined by good friend of the podcast™️ Peter Sankoff AND best friend of the podcast Penny Sankoff to talk about their new father-daughter pod Translating Criminal Law: Rated G.

What do you get when a law professor and his 11 year old daughter explore what the criminal law actually does? A great podcast.

Stick around to listed to their third episode where Peter and Penny discuss the presumption of innocence and Penny tells Peter about how to run a fan page.

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 118 - 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.

We are trying a new format over here at the Taman/Spratt studios - a shorter podcast in your feed every two weeks - like clockwork! So on to the show…

There are some positives in the government’s new justice bill - but a huge problem is the government’s response Canada’s deadly opioid epidemic. Where experts have recommended the decriminalization of drugs, the government is doubling down on diversion.

First, we hear from Tanya, who lost her brother to an overdose. Her tragic story highlights some of the major problems with the government’s diversion approach to addiction.

And then we talk with professor Daniel Bear about Bill C-22 and why we need to decriminalize all drugs now. Bear is a drug policy researcher and Professor of Criminal Justice at Humber College. His work focuses on drugs policy, with an emphasis on both cannabis, harm reduction, and community policing practices. He is the type of expert the government should be listening to.

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 117 - 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.

We are trying a new format over here at the Taman/Spratt studios - a shorter podcast in your feed every two weeks - like clockwork! So on to the show…

Well, there is a new justice bill. Justice minister David Lametti says that the government recognizes that there is systemic racism in Canada’s criminal justice system and that the new legislation would ensure courts can “continue to impose tough sentences on violent and serious crimes without the disproportionate impact on Indigenous peoples, as well as Black Canadians and members of marginalized communities.”

But does the new bill really do all that? We grade all the parts of the new bill. A, B, C, D, or F.

Lately, if you want make a a tax-deductible contribution to the Joseph Arvay Legacy Fund visit: https://extrweb.uvic.ca/donate-online/joseph-arvay-legacy-fund

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 116 - 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.

We are trying a new format over here at the Taman/Spratt studios - a shorter podcast in your feed every two weeks - like clockwork! So on to the show…

The Justice Minister has new a new mandate and with it a new supplementary mandate letter. This episode we look at David Lametti’s new marching orders and wonder, if this time will he actually follow through on them?

But before we do that…. Canadian Lawyer published a bigoted transphobic opinion piece on Friday. There was an immediate backlash. Canadian Lawyer has since removed the piece because it “did not reflect the views of Canadian Lawyer Magazine.” But we need discuss how this happened. Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

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!

So, episode 115 - 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.

We are trying a new format over here at the Taman/Spratt studios - a shorter podcast in your feed every two weeks - like clockwork! So on to the show…

There is bad reporting and then there is the MacLeans Magazine piece on the Sullivan and Chan case about the defence of self induced intoxication.

After the Ontario Court of Appeal found the Criminal Code’s prohibition on the defence of extreme intoxication unconstitutional there was lots of misinformation and poor reporting, with some going as far as calling it a get-out-of-jail-free card for rapists.

We discussed the legal issues way back on episode 108.

And then MacLeans tried to take a deep dive into those complex constitutional, legal, and political waters. It was a belly flop.

So, this episode we set the record straight and beg reporters to give us a call before your work hits the printing press.

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!

So, episode 114 - 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.

A huge thanks to my firm Abergel Goldstein & Partners who have not murdered me for editing the podcast at work!

We are trying a new format over here at the Taman/Spratt studios - a shorter podcast in your feed every two weeks - like clockwork! So on to the show…

Last week Conservative Party leader Erin O’Tool tweeted that “Not one criminal should be vaccinated ahead of any vulnerable Canadian or front-line health worker.”

O’Toole’s latest populist gambit is the perfect dog whistle to the tough-on-crime crowd. Unfortunately throwing away the health and lives of people in jail has real world consequences.

As reported in Vice by Justin Ling, The COVID-19 outbreak in Canada’s prisons has been catastrophic. And as prouder Lisa Kerr explains in the Globe and Mail, O’Toole’s promise to put prisoners last will cost lives and make our communities more dangerous.

I wonder who O’Toole thinks should be second last to get the vaccine? I wonder where you are on his list?

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 113 - 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 happened again. Another minimum sentence was found unconstitutional. This time, in a case before Ontario Court Justice six women from the Pikangikum First Nation pleaded guilty to impaired-driving offences, and in a joint hearing, brought a constitutional challenge to minimum jail sentences because, in practical terms, they couldn’t serve them on weekends, as other people do. The jail was too far away from the remote First Nation.

You can read the decision here: R. v. Turtle, 2020 ONCJ 429

The federal government promised to reform Canada’s minimum sentence laws, but since they first made the promise in 2015, they have done nothing. We better not let Joe Biden beat us to the punch!

And then we talk about the wrongful conviction of Guy Paul Morin. Last week the Toronto Police announced that they solved one of Canada’s most troubling wrongful conviction cases, the 1984 killing of nine-year-old Christine Jessop. It was a backslapping press conference that glossed over the police and Crown’s role in once of Canada’s worst miscarriage of justice.

The police don’t want to talk about it, so we will.

You can read Justice Kaufman’s report on the wrongful conviction here: Report of the Kaufman Commission on Proceedings Involving Guy Paul Morin

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

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

So, episode 112 - 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.

Before we jump into our interview with professor Anthony Doob we take a moment to remember United States Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg and talk about what will be a contentious confirmation process for the next Trump Supreme Court appointment.

Also, it seems like Mike won some awards - being named the Best Lawyer and being recognized by Canadian Lawyer magazine as one of the top 25 most influential lawyers in Canada!

Then on the the interview put interview with professor Doob. Anthony Doob is an important voice in the criminal justice debate. Professor emeritus and a long-serving director of the Centre of Criminology at the University of Toronto, he is highly regarded for his research into our justice system.

Last year, Doob was appointed as chair of the panel of independent researchers appointed to review reforms to solitary confinement in Canada’s prisons. There was no review because corrections refused to provide the panel with any data.

Then Doob when public….

P.S. Listen to the end for some bonus talk on minimum sentence and pardon reform!

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

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