Criminal

  • September 02, 2026

    Yukon releases ‘What We Heard’ report on ‘sexualized cyber crimes’

    Yukon residents say victims who had intimate images that were shared illegally face barriers in accessing justice due to the expense of legal services, a lack of privacy and a rigid reporting system.

  • September 02, 2026

    Solitary crosses constitutional line in prisons. Why not in hospitals?

    There is something profoundly unsettling about a society that regards prolonged solitary confinement as unconstitutional in prison yet appears prepared to tolerate the same isolation when the person behind the locked door is a psychiatric patient.

  • September 02, 2026

    How escalation actually works under Canada’s anti-money-laundering penalty regime

    One provision of Canada’s anti-money-laundering penalty regime is quoted more often than it is read. Section 4(2) of the Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulation provides that a series of minor violations identified on a notice of violation “shall be considered to be a serious violation” where the penalties total $400,000 or more. That sentence has appeared, in substantially that form, in law firm bulletins, compliance explainers and vendor guides published since the regime was overhauled in March 2026.

  • September 02, 2026

    ‘Alle Menschen werden Brüder’ and access to justice

    “Alle Menschen werden Brüder” translates to “all people become brothers” and is one of the most recognizable lines from Friedrich Schiller’s poem Ode to Joy, immortalized in the final movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. In modern, inclusive language, its meaning might be expressed as “all people become kin.”

  • September 01, 2026

    N.L. court certifies class action over alleged abuse at Innu day schools

    The Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court has certified a class action relating to the operation of Innu day schools in Labrador, allowing certain claims against the province and Canada for breaches of fiduciary duty and negligence to be tried. The plaintiffs alleged that government assimilation caused harms including physical and sexual abuse and loss of language and culture.

  • September 01, 2026

    Legal groups welcome injunction in Ontario cash bail constitutional challenge

    An Ontario Superior Court judge has put the brakes on the province’s new requirements on cash bail, granting an injunction to keep them from being enforced while a constitutional challenge of the rules plays out.

  • September 01, 2026

    Coyote vs. Acme: Litigation parable proves most compelling story not necessarily strongest case

    After years spent in litigation for my clients and, in retirement, assisting a prominent litigation lawyer in writing his autobiography, it is good to take a break. Last Friday I attended a showing of the newly released feature Coyote vs. Acme.

  • August 31, 2026

    N.L. task force seeking ‘diverse perspectives’ in fighting gender-based violence

    A task force combatting gender-based violence in Newfoundland and Labrador is developing an engagement plan involving the “diverse perspectives” of various stakeholders, including survivors, newcomers, youth, 2SLGBTQIA+ people and those with “lived experience.”

  • August 31, 2026

    Birdman of Osborn a cautionary tale of fallibility of criminal convictions

    Francis Clifford Smith was sentenced to death in Connecticut in 1950. He was 25 years old. He was granted a last meal eight times. Each time, his execution was stayed. Smith died in prison on June 25, 2026, at the age of 101, having spent more than 70 years in prison and, by some accounts, becoming the longest-serving prisoner in the United States.

  • August 28, 2026

    N.L. Appeal Court finds Charter breach does not automatically lead to exclusion of evidence

    A recent Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal decision demonstrates the sometimes difficult balance between protecting Charter rights and ensuring that serious criminal charges are decided on their merits.

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