“Your Right! It’s the Law!” Project Kicks Off
HI!! My name is Cecilia Alejo Rivas, and I will be coordinating the “Your Right! It’s the Law!” project at Justice for Children and Youth. Funded by the Law Foundation, this project will use social media to connect with youth and youth workers in Thunder Bay around the various legal issues facing youth in their…
Consequences of Loitering
My name is John and I’m 14 years old. I live with my mother and my little brother. My mother usually allows us to chill with friends only when we have completed our homework, except she works at night so I often meet up with my friends when she is at work. She has no…
Evidence in the Criminal Law
In crime dramas like CSI, we often notice police officers gathering large amounts of weapons and shell in clear plastic bags. These bags have ‘evidence’ clearly marked on their cover, and are later used to convict the suspect. Driving past a real world crime scene, we similarly observe police officers sectioning off pieces of land…
Break and Enter
During a cold winter night closer to Christmas, a group of 18 year olds—Alan, Chris, Kyle and Jason—were hanging around the park where they noticed a van pull out of the driveway across the street filled with luggage sets. In curiosity, the group approached a dark non-lit house and rang the doorbell. No answer. They…
JOYRIDING
Jessica, a 14-year-old high school student, wanted to go to the mall with her friends after school. Neither she nor her friends, being the same age as her, had a license to drive to the mall and the mall was too far to walk to. At the same time, some of her friends did not…
Criminal vs. Civil Cases
In this post, law student volunteer Tracy Chen explains the different between criminal and civil law cases.Criminal Law http://martin-karcazes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Law-books.jpg The purpose of criminal law is to punish behaviour that offends society as a whole, even though only one person may have been harmed. A criminal case involves prosecution by the Crown (government) against an individual.…
LGBT Rights in Ontario Schools
Scenario: Mark is a 17 year old student who attends a co-educational high school. Having ‘come-out’ to his school about his sexual orientation, he takes pride in being gay. Yet life hasn’t been so easy for him. Constantly teased by his peers, he feels ostracized by former friends and shunned by his classmates. One day,…
The Supreme Court of Canada Combats Cyber-Bullying
In September of 2012, Canada’s top court, the Supreme Court of Canada, struck a blow to cyber-bullies in a case called AB v Bragg Communications Inc, 2012 SCC 46. Background The rise of social media platforms has had a drastic impact on the way people communicate. Facebook, the social media market leader, now has roughly…
Youth records and crossing the border
Scenario: Justin is 18 and a Canadian citizen. Four years ago, he got into a fight at school and was charged with assault. Justin pled guilty and was sentenced to a conditional discharge. Justin completed all requirements of the sentence. Since then, he has put the incident behind him, and hasn’t had any other charges…
Can a missed curfew impact custody rights?
Image from: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_p9mgdMpCFTg/SeSkBTUFBsI/AAAAAAAAAD4/4GGjNcf8Jto/s400/Curfew.jpg If I miss my curfew, what happens? Scenario: Mike is a 14 year-old child living with his mom and dad in Toronto, Ontario. His parents had always given a rough timeline on when he should come home during the weekdays. However, after Mike entered high school, he had more extracurricular activities after school.…