Articles 2020

Toronto Federal Prosecutor Jason Mitschele recounts his experience navigating law school, the legal system, and COVID-19 Zoom court as a blind lawyer.

Mental health lawyers Anita Szigeti and Maya Kotob offer an overview of what occurs after a finding of not criminally responsible, and what lawyers need to explain to their clients when this disposition is a likelihood.

Criminal lawyers Dan Brown, Lisa Jørgensen, and Amanda Ross offer practical tips and suggestions to assist practitioners during the unprecedented circumstances we find ourselves in during the COVID outbreak.

Teddy Weinstein and Natasha Donnelly offer an overview of bail law in the age of COVID-19.

Crown Counsel Kate Doherty discusses the admissibility of "records" in the possession of the accused at a criminal trial.

Victims of crime in Ontario will now get significantly less compensation and will no longer have their cases heard before an impartial adjudicator after Bill 100 amends the Compensation for Victims of Crime Act and dissolves the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.

Amanda Ross provides a case summary for R. v. Henry, 2019 ONSC 4978. In the case (a summary conviction appeal), the Honourable Mr. Justice Schreck considered the Ontario Court of Appeal's recent decision in G. v. Ontario (Attorney General), 2019 ONCA 264, and ruled that a conditional discharge is not a “sentence” for the purposes of SOIRA and does not trigger the imposition of an order to register and comply with its terms.

Criminal defence and immigration lawyer Harpreet Saini provides practice tips for ethical lawyering: how to professionally and courteously handle a call when a potential client already has counsel.

Alan Gold discusses the impact of changes to drinking, drugs and driving offence legislation - specifically, how new statement admissibility legislation stacks up next to existing jurisprudence.