Reasonable Doubt: Similar phrases, much different meanings
A conditional discharge and a conditional sentence order are vastly different sentences the court can impose when a person pleads guilty or is convicted.
Reasonable Doubt: A Charter argument can result in a judge throwing out evidence
How bad is bad? When a trial judge decides to throw out the evidence.
When an accused person alleges that one of their charter rights have been violated, it’s an uphill battle toward their desired goal—the exclusion of evidence obtained in the investigation resulting in a dismissal of the charges.
Reasonable Doubt: Illegal marijuana income may lead to huge back taxes
Since 1955, the tax courts have consistently maintained that tax authorities are not concerned with the legal nature of an activity, but rather in taxing the large amount of wealth generated by the operation of a lucrative, though ill-fated, business. Yes, the Tax Man doesn’t care where you got the pie, as long as he gets his slice.
Reasonable Doubt: Unreasonable delay applications – a free ride or a social injustice?
Some people m
ay think that accused persons are getting a free “get out of jail card” for having their case thrown out simply because it may have taken too long for a trial but there are extremely important reasons why this charter right should be protected. Justice is not truly served when an accused person’s day in court takes years to materialize.
Reasonable Doubt: No changes required to charge approval process in B.C.
An article titled “Why 1000 charged in U.K. riots and 0 charged in Vancouver” appeared in a Toronto newspaper, the Star, on August 17. Many people here in B.C. were wondering the same thing. Was the U.K. system better at addressing crime? Were the police in B.C. simply slow or just not doing their jobs? Were Crown prosecutors thwarting the police’s efforts at trying to get the bad guys? Is B.C. simply so lax in how it deals with criminals that this was just another example of how the criminals rule the streets in this province?
Reasonable Doubt: Is B.C.’s justice system in crisis?
The “crisis in legal aid” issue spawns a lot of conversations, but, at the heart of the matter, the problem of lack of funding for legal aid is not a conversation about lawyers and corruption. You can be indignant about corrupt lawyers and scream as much as you want about lawyers abusing the system, but it does not change the fact that a conversation about the pathetic state of legal aid in this province is a conversation that is completely and utterly about you.
http://www.straight.com/article-555696/vancouver/reasonable-doubt-bcs-justice-system-crisis
Reasonable Doubt: A call to arms on legal aid funding in B.C.
On Wednesday (November 30), lawyers are being called to the steps of courthouses across the province at 1 p.m. for the Rally in Ribbons and Robes, wearing a blue ribbon and clad in the robes that are designated only for wear in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal. The purpose of this action is to bring awareness to the deplorable state of legal aid funding in British Columbia.
http://www.straight.com/article-549811/vancouver/reasonable-doubt-call-arms-legal-aid-funding-bc
Reasonable Doubt: Common grounds for challenging that speeding ticket
Recently we’ve received a slew of questions from readers about speeding. Most of you feel that it’s rather unfair when the police accuse you of speeding and the only way they could have measured your speed is by having (as one reader puts it) “radar eyeballs”. This article is an introduction to what you need to know to challenge that speeding ticket.
Reasonable Doubt: Drunk drivers have a lot to lose under B.C. impaired-driving regime, Part 2
As Justice McEwan pointed out in the Spencer case, the review provisions are “handicapped by the fact that hearings are not in person, the evidence is not sworn, that there is no cross examination, and that imposes no duty on the officer to provide all the relevant material”. Furthermore, the adjudicators are not legally trained and more often than not, will simply side with the police officer since they have no reason to lie whereas, in their minds, the applicant does.
Reasonable Doubt: Bringing back old judges is no cure for ailing justice system in B.C.
In her throne speech, Christy Clark tossed the justice system a bone. She told us she was going to bring back some of the retired judges to help unclog the court systems. Good luck with that, Christy.
The idea that a few part-time judges are going to cure our debilitated and clogged justice system is laughable. And if the delays in the court system in the Greater Vancouver District were not so outrageous, I might laugh. But I can’t laugh because I know how badly the lack of funding for our justice system is hurting us.
