Being charged with a criminal offence can be devastating. Many people believe that because they are innocent, they do not require a lawyer, or that a lawyer is an unnecessary expense. This is usually a mistake. A big mistake. The criminal justice system is not always sympathetic or understanding. The consequences of being found guilty […]
Last week, the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act (the Act) received Royal Assent and became law in Canada. This change in the law has the potential to save lives while our country currently faces an opioid crisis. The recent opioid crisis seems largely tied to Fentanyl and its growing popularity amongst drug users. Needless to […]
Recent news headlines on drugs have been split between the Liberal government’s promise to legalize marijuana and the wave of drug overdoses related to fentanyl use. These issues, despite their many facets, are surprisingly straightforward when compared to complex drug investigations and take-downs that also grace the front page of the Toronto Star. Drugs are […]
A criminal conviction can be a significant and life changing event with wide-ranging negative consequences. It is important to be aware that many criminal convictions can be appealed. An appeal can be made against conviction, sentence, a verdict of unfit to stand trial, or a finding of not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder. […]
Domestic assaults are taken seriously by the police, prosecutors and courts. It is advisable to retain a lawyer as soon as possible after being charged with an offence involving domestic violence. What is a Domestic Offence? Domestic offences, including domestic assault, are offences that occur within the context of a familial or romantic relationship (for […]
Few inventions in the past thirty years have had a greater impact on law enforcement than the video camera. The realities of police violence can be hidden easily behind corroborated reports of police officers, until of course, events are captured on video. The March 3, 1991 video taken of a group of Los Angeles police […]
Privacy in the digital world is of a growing and unending concern. With the continually increasing amount of personal information stored on cell phones, from conversations with friends and loved ones, to banking; who can access this information has become incredibly important. The advent of the “smartphone” has made the information that can be stored […]
Canada has always been viewed as a safe country to live and to visit. Compared to our neighbours to the south, Canada’s crime rates barely register. There are two ways to measure police-reported crime: the crime rate and the crime severity index (CSI). The crime rate is a measurement of offences in violation of the […]
Cell phones carry a staggering amount of intimate information, more than any other device in our possession. The convenience of having web browsing capability, email, texting, messaging apps, camera, and a telephone all in one place has centralized the storage of this information. Passcodes and fingerprint technology are frequently used against the average intrusive stranger, […]
Police are a necessary part of any functional society, but what happens if you stop feeling protected and begin feeling threatened by your police force? It is not a society that many would choose to live in but unfortunately it is starting to become a trend in many big cities, including Toronto. On November 4, […]