Criminal
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August 15, 2025
Murder trial jury instructions inadequate, new trial ordered
It was meant to be a coworkers’ celebration of life for a Boston Pizza employee who had died in 2018. That celebration turned tragic when three people were stabbed, one of whom died.
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August 15, 2025
Beyond the bar: When nobility rings hollow
I recently sat for the New York “bar exam” (also known as the Uniform Bar Exam or UBE), which is a gruelling and high-stakes test that marks the gateway to practising law in the United States. On the second day of this 12-hour exam, a tragic and jarring incident occurred: a fellow examinee collapsed from cardiac arrest while the test continued unabated.
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August 14, 2025
DEI dilemma: U.S. state bars grapple with DEI programs, language amid legal threats
State bar leaders across the U.S. are wrestling with whether to stand firm on their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs or quietly rework programs and language as they face rising political pressure and potential legal challenges.
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August 14, 2025
Jury instruction missteps lead to retrial in Ontario murder case
John Wayne Pierre and Lesley Watterworth had a volatile, drug-fuelled relationship, made worse by Pierre’s jealousy over her former boyfriend. After leaving a rehab program early in 2016, Pierre resumed drug use with her.
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August 14, 2025
CIVIL PROCEDURE - Costs - Assessment or fixing of costs
Appeal by Duhamel from chambers judge’s decision dismissing his petition for judicial review. Duhamel sought judicial review of a decision by the Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia, to publish a document on its website summarizing the results of an investigation into the conduct of a police officer.
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August 14, 2025
Bar ramps up campaign to end ‘Zoom-only’ policy & get intervener counsel back into SCC’s courtroom
Prominent intervener groups are telling the Supreme Court of Canada that its 2022 practice direction confining their counsel to Zoom and barring intervener lawyers from making submissions in person before the judges is hurting their advocacy and restricting access to justice for public interest groups. However, the top court says it’s sticking with its current policy since “virtual appearances have proven to be an effective means of supporting equal access.”
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August 13, 2025
Michael Edelson honoured with Martin Medal
The Criminal Lawyers’ Association (CLA) has announced that Michael D. Edelson has been awarded the G. Arthur Martin Criminal Justice Medal.
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August 13, 2025
What to make of the Wapekeka courtroom shooting, part two
Systemic issues run deep. The longstanding failure of Canadian policing systems to address the needs of Indigenous communities has been documented in numerous reports and legal inquiries. For instance, Canada’s Supreme Court affirmed in Quebec (Attorney General) v. Pekuakamiulnuatsh Takuhikan, [2024] S.C.J. No. 39 that Quebec’s refusal to adequately fund First Nations policing violated its duty to negotiate in good faith and breached the honour of the Crown.
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August 13, 2025
Three judicial appointments made to Ontario courts
Sean Fraser, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, announced yesterday that Jennifer M. Moser, Alexandra J. Bignucolo and Lisa M. Walters have been appointed judges of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario in London.
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August 12, 2025
Admissibility of fresh evidence in question in murder appeal
On June 30, 2019, rival groups, which included two men, Moadd Maadani and Ryan Kabuya-Ntumba, clashed outside the PPL bar in Ottawa’s ByWard Market.