Jury trials have proven to be the most challenging parts of the justice system in the age of COVID-19. The Court of Appeal has been conducting appeals using Zoom. The Provincial Court has been conducting sentencing and judicial release hearings by telephone conference. Both the Provincial Court, and the Supreme Court, have been utilizing […]
This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: When are the police permitted to arrest or detain someone? In the context of discussions concerning unbiased policing and identification checks, various common circumstances that do permit a police officer to arrest or detain someone are discussed: 1) If they have reasonable grounds to believe […]
This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: The British Columbia Court of Appeal finds that the Director of Child, Family and Community Services acted unreasonably, and without authority, in telling a single father that children under 10 years of age could not ride the public bus without supervision. The children that were riding […]
This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: The Supreme Court of Canada has declared an arbitration clause, used by Uber, to be unconscionable, and therefore invalid. The clause, included in a 14-page agreement that prospective Uber drivers were required to click “I accept” on, twice, purported to require any disputes with Uber to be […]
This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: From March to May 2020, the number of people who have died as a result of drug overdoses in British Columbia has been more than double the number of people who have died from COVID-19: 401 vs 164. January COVID-19 deaths: 0 Overdose deaths: 77 February […]
This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: In a recent decision the Supreme Court of Canada has affirmed that when someone is arrested and charged with an offence, the presumption is that they should be released without the imposition of any conditions. Any conditions of release that are imposed must be clearly articulated, […]
Legally Speaking Episode Summary: June 11, 2020 In 2015 a BC conservation officer was dismissed from his position for refusing to kill two bear cubs. Initially, the conservation officer didn’t have the assistance of a lawyer and the issue of his dismissal was dealt with by a union representative and the Labour Relations Board. […]
Can you be entrapped by phone? The Supreme Court of Canada has confirmed that you can. One of the ways that entrapment can occur is if the police engage in random virtue testing: presenting an opportunity to commit a crime without a reasonable suspicion that the person being tested is already committing the crime, […]
In Canada, the decision about whether or not to extradite someone to another country to face criminal charges has both a legal and political aspect. The courts decide if the legal requirements for extradition have been met. If they have, it is then up to the Minister of Justice to determine if the person should […]
COVID-19 is a consideration when deciding if someone should remain in jail while waiting for their trial. In one federal penitentiary, located in Mission BC, 133 inmates and staff contracted the coronavirus. As a judge recently pointed out, however, the risk of COVID-19 is not a “get out of jail free card.” The overriding […]