Modern Law: Verdicts and Voices is a monthly podcast in which we unpack key legal stories and celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Supreme Court of Canada. This special series delves into legal news, landmark cases and features expert guests who provide unique insights into Canada’s justice system.

In this episode, host Alison Crawford welcomes Federal Court of Canada Chief Justice Paul Crampton, who explains how the court is swamped with an unprecedented number of cases and how virtually no one is declaring the use of AI in their filings.

We talk with two family law experts, Shelley Hounsell, K.C. from Pressé Mason and Vanessa Lam from Lam Family Law, about the recent Supreme Court hearing into the proposed new tort of family violence.

We also dive into R v. Drybones, the first case the Supreme Court decided under the 1960 Canadian Bill of Rights. Alison Crawford take a look at this landmark 1969 case and its impacts with Naiomi Metallic, a Mi'kmaq lawyer who teaches law at Dalhousie University, and Brian Purdy, the lawyer who represented the appellant, Michael Drybones.

If you have any comments on this episode, or if you would like to send us any story ideas, you can write to us at [email protected].