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When the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the criminal defence of extreme intoxication this summer, the public backlash was swift and withering. Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath urged the Attorney General to appeal the decision, stating “we should be supporting survivors of sexual assault and violent crime, not making it even harder.” Professors Elizabeth Sheehy […]

On June 8, 2020 the Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey said that the Crown would be seeking leave to appeal Sullivan & Chan to the Supreme Court of Canada. 12 This is a time of opportunity in the intoxication/NMDA sphere. The Supreme Court will (likely) have an opportunity to define this defence and requisite elements, and/or Parliament will have an opportunity to redraft s. 33.1 to bring much needed clarity. This comment will give some thoughts on the appeal of Sullivan & Chan, and the state of intoxication and automatism going forward examining both the voluntariness and the mens rea required.

"Sentencing in Canada contains a unique collection of essays that explore all key aspects of sentencing. The contributors include leading academics, criminal law practitioners, and members of the judiciary, and many of the authors have extensive experience working in the areas of sentencing and parole. The volume is not simply a statement of the law -- instead, the chapters explore the wider context in which sentencing and parole decisions are taken. The volume also incorporates findings from the latest empirical research into sentencing policy and practice in Canada, including important issues such as sentencing Indigenous persons. As Mr Justice Moldaver notes in his preface, the volume "will be useful to criminal law practitioners and, more generally, to all persons interested in sentencing."-- Provided by publisher.

Research Summary By taking advantage of data published by the Sentencing Project to analyze whether states that use life without parole (LWOP) more often experience lower violent crime rates or greater reductions in violent crime, this study is the first to empirically assess the crime-reducing potential of LWOP sentences. The results suggest that LWOP might produce a small absolute reduction in violent crime but that it is no more effective than life with parole. Policy Implications Despite reductions in the use of the death penalty, LWOP has expanded dramatically—and at a much faster rate—over the last quarter century. This expansion has come at great financial and human costs and has not been distributed equally throughout the population. As such, the public policy debate over the use of LWOP is likely to intensify. Yet, to date, there have been no empirical assessments of LWOP's efficacy to inform this debate. This study begins to fill this gap in our knowledge, and the results, if replicated, suggest that the use of LWOP should be either scaled back or eliminated.

This chapter examines the application of copyright law to video streaming in the US and the EU. Since the Berne Convention and the WIPO Copyright Treaty established international norms that national laws need to follow, the relevant provisions of these two international instruments are used as the archetype; US and EU laws’ compatibility with them is examined here. This chapter demonstrates that through the communication to the public right, or its equivalent, copyright law adequately protects authors against the three existing types of video streaming: webcasting, on-demand streaming and internet retransmission of broadcasts. It argues that in the context of video streaming, the exclusive nature of the communication to the public right must be preserved. Therefore, this chapter maintains that any national law that recognises a compulsory licence mechanism to cover this new technology, or adopts the service zone theory to exempt certain types of video streaming from copyright liability, may run the risk of being in breach of its international obligations.

In Canada, there are persistent allegations and some empirical evidence suggesting racialized police bias; certain (non-White) groups appear to face over-enforcement as criminal suspects and under-enforcement as victims. Yet, it is challenging to prove or disprove these claims. Unlike other countries, where governments routinely publish police-reported crime and criminal court data identifying the race/ethnicity of criminal suspects and victims, Canada maintains a ban on the publication of such data. In this article, using an intersectional and critical analysis, we examine 127 prosecuted (predominantly domestic sex) trafficking cases and explore related claims of racial and gender bias together with sensationalism in the enforcement of Canadian anti-trafficking in persons laws. Our findings align with other empirical research observing the racially selective identification and prosecution of sex trafficking cases through a heteronormative and gender binary lens. Whether real or perceived, racial—alongside gender, sexuality, economic, citizenship, and occupational—bias has significant adverse consequences for the equality, liberty, security, mobility, labour, and access to justice rights of the Indigenous, Black, Arab/Muslim and other racialized communities being policed. Our data reveal a clear and pressing need to publish race-disaggregated crime and criminal court data and to challenge deeply ingrained stereotypes using various means., RésuméAu Canada, il y a des allégations persistantes et des preuves empiriques suggérant des préjugés racistes de la part de la police; certains groupes (non blancs) semblent être confrontés à une application excessive de la loi comme suspects et à une application insuffisante comme victimes. Pourtant, il est difficile de prouver ou de réfuter ces allégations. Contrairement à d’autres pays, où les gouvernements publient régulièrement les données de la police et des tribunaux pénaux identifiant la race/ethnicité des suspects et des victimes, le Canada maintient une interdiction de publication de ces données. Dans cet article, à l’aide d’une analyse intersectionnelle et critique, nous examinons 127 cas de trafic (principalement le trafic sexuel en territoire national) ayant fait l’objet de poursuites judiciaires et explorons les allégations connexes de préjugés raciaux et sexuels, ainsi que le sensationnalisme dans l’application des lois canadiennes contre la traite des personnes. Nos conclusions s’alignent sur d’autres recherches empiriques observant l’identification et la poursuite raciales sélectives des cas de trafic sexuel à travers une lentille binaire hétéronormative et sexospécifique. Qu’elle soit réelle ou perçue comme telle, la race – à côté du sexe, de la sexualité, de l’économie, de la citoyenneté et des préjugés professionnels – a des conséquences négatives importantes sur l’égalité, la liberté, la sécurité, la mobilité, le travail et les droits d’accès à la justice des communautés autochtones, noires, arabes/musulmanes et autres communautés racialisées qui sont contrôlées par la police. Nos données révèlent un besoin clair et urgent de publier des données sur la criminalité et les tribunaux pénaux ventilées par race et de remettre en question des stéréotypes profondément ancrés.

Historically, homosexuality and prostitution were both branded immoral vices that required criminalization, despite the fact that they were also considered ‘victimless crimes.’ Yet, in contemporary Canadian society, gays and lesbians have gained wide social acceptance and legal rights, while the sex trade has become more criminalized, stigmatized, and, for clients or third parties, vilified. This article explores the reasons for this divergence. First, drawing on radical queer critique, I problematize this framing, arguing that the equality and rights-based victories for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans community did not necessarily benefit all of its members. Building on this insight, I argue that those queers who are unable or uninterested in accessing the benefits ushered in by ‘gay rights’ have identities, proclivities, and vulnerabilities that overlap with those of sex workers and/or their clients. Part I of the article sets the socio-legal and political context, providing succinct overviews of key developments relating to gay and lesbian rights and of key developments relating to sex trade regulation, focusing primarily on the last fifty years. Part II analyses how gay/lesbian mainstream acceptance and the queer/sex trade marginalization occurred through overlapping discourses and laws related to privacy, bawdy houses/indecency, disease, spousal/marital relations, and children. I end with a consideration of the intersectionality between queerness and the sex trade, both in terms of subjectivities and non-normative sexual practices.

"First published in 1945, Glanville Williams: Learning the Law has been introducing students to the foundation skills needed to study law effectively for over 70 years. Now in its 17th edition, it is still the must-have book for every student embarking upon a law degree. [This book] introduces students to the basic legal materials such as statutes and case law, and explains how these are to be read and interpreted in the light of common law doctrines of precedent. [It] explains how legal problems are to be solved and discussed in the examination room [and] offers advice on study methods, exam preparation, time and stress management. [It] discusses the methods of legal research, and explains where to look for the law, both on paper and electronically [and] covers participation in moots, mock trials and other competitions. [It] discusses employment prospects and gives advice on seeking and obtaining work [and] provides recommendations for further reading within and outside the law." --publisher's description.

In recent years, the act of nonconsensual condom removal, termed stealthing, has become commonly discussed on social and print media; yet, little to n...

"Sentencing in Canada contains a unique collection of essays that explore all key aspects of sentencing. The contributors include leading academics, criminal law practitioners, and members of the judiciary, and many of the authors have extensive experience working in the areas of sentencing and parole. The volume is not simply a statement of the law -- instead, the chapters explore the wider context in which sentencing and parole decisions are taken. The volume also incorporates findings from the latest empirical research into sentencing policy and practice in Canada, including important issues such as sentencing Indigenous persons. As Mr Justice Moldaver notes in his preface, the volume "will be useful to criminal law practitioners and, more generally, to all persons interested in sentencing.""-- Provided by publisher.