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…

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.…