Event Date: Wednesday, February 9, 12:30-2:30

Event Location: OSG 206

The Metamorphosis of Impaired Driving

Despite increased sanctions, the statutory erosion of common defences and a multi-decade public awareness campaign, impaired driving continues to be the charge most frequently faced by Canadians.  Charge-diversion schemes epitomized by the Ministry of the Attorney-General's Justice on Target initiative, which exchange guilty pleas with shorter periods of driving prohibition for the installation of an ignition interlock device in an offender's vehicle, have not affected the trial rate for these offences as much as some might have hoped.  Many members of the defence bar continue to finance a significant proportion of their practice through defending those accused of impaired driving, and many crown attorneys still spend much of their time in court prosecuting the same.  Knowledge of the science behind the detection of alcohol impairment is an essential part of the criminal lawyer's toolkit.

Impaired driving is an offence in transition, however: recently, Parliament enacted provisions that permitted the certification of so-called "Drug Recognition Experts."  These are law enforcement officers trained in recognizing the physical signs of impairment by various legal and illegal drugs and capable of conducting field sobriety tests designed to identify individuals impaired by substances other than alcohol.  Whether these tests are methodologically rigorous or merely supply cover for bare police suspicion is a matter of some debate.

On Wednesday, February 2 at 12:30 P.M. in the back half of the moot court, the Criminal Law Society will host a discussion of the science of detecting impairment led by Jean-Pierre Palmentier, a toxicologist with the Center for Forensic Sciences.  JP will cover everything from Intoxilyzer theory and operation and the manual calculation of blood alcohol concentration through to the science behind drug recognition and field sobriety testing.

Event Date: Wednesday, January 26, 12:30-2:30 P.M.

Event Location: Osgoode Room 104

Did you come to law school to get, y'know, A JOB?

Does looking at the balance of your student line of credit make you nauseous?  Are you worried that at the end of your studies you may have to sell your organs?

 On Wednesday, January 26 at 12:30 P.M. in Room 104 the Criminal Law Society will convene its 2010-11 Careers Panel to answer all of your questions about getting work, keeping work, and (most importantly) keeping both of your kidneys once the OSAP/RBC debt collectors start calling.

 The following practitioners have graciously agreed to attend at the law school and answer your questions about how they got their start in criminal law, whether they like it, and what you should do if you are interested in this area of practice:

Support AIDWYC by purchasing these greeting cards and help defend the wrongfully convicted!

About the Association

The Association in Defence of the Wrongfully Convicted (AIDWYC) is a non-profit organization based in Toronto that has developed a strong reputation as an advocate for individuals who have been wrongly convicted.

The International Review Committee (IRC) at AIDWYC reviews claims of innocence from inmates outside Canada, with many cases coming from the United States. Ray Gray is one of these inmates, and is currently serving his 38th year in prison for a crime he and AIDWYC maintain he did not commit. The IRC is actively working on gathering evidence to mount an application to review his conviction in State Court.

About the Artist

In 1973, Raymond Gray’s life and career could not have been brighter. Ray knew his calling. As a talented young artist, Ray enrolled in a fine arts program and was preparing to take his career to the next level. He never made it to his first class. What happened to Ray is the stuff of nightmares, a Kafkaesque tale that sadly has played out far too many times in the justice system.

More information about the artist can be found here.

About the Cards

To help support AIDWYC’s cause, Ray Gray’s artwork was used to produce unique and inspirational greeting cards. All proceeds will be used to assist claims of innocence by the International Review Committee at AIDWYC.

All cards come with an envelope and an optional insert outlining how the purchase of this card supports the wrongfully convicted.

Discounted Prices:    1 for $2;    3 for $5;    6 for $10;    10 for $15

How to Order

* To view the cards available for purchase, please click here *

Cards will be made available at Osgoode on select days, or upon request. Please place your orders by emailing the quantity and card type(s) to: RitchieJacob@osgoode.yorku.ca

Event Date: Wednesday, November 10, 12:30 P.M.

Event Location: Room 104, Osgoode

Over the past 20 years, declining birthrates and increased longevity have greatly altered the age demographics of Canadian society.  Concomitant with this change is the emergence of a new class of victims of crime: senior citizens, which Health Canada estimates will represent an unprecedented 20% of the Canadian population by 2020. 

The offences perpetrated against senior citizens are as variegated as the lives of seniors themselves.  Those that live independently are vulnerable to theft, fraud, and manipulation by their relatives and others.  Those living in managed care facilities or other institutions may find themselves assaulted, confined against their will, or compelled to take medications to control their behaviour.  Knowing how to prosecute and defend against these offences, many of which present unique evidentiary and legal challenges, will only become more important as Canada's population continues to age.  See R. v. Peters, 2009 CarswellOnt 2556 (Ct. J) and  the well-known R. v. Khelawon, [2006] 2 S.C.R. 787, for sample cases.

On November 10, 2010 at 12:30 P.M. in Room 104, please join the Criminal Law Society and Police Constable Patricia Fleischmann of the TPS, an expert in the field of elder abuse, as she delivers a presentation on this emerging area of criminal law.  PC Fleischmann will address the vulnerabilities presented by an aging population, the ways in which they are most commonly victimized, and the challenges investigators face in assembling evidence in cases of this type.

Event Date: Wednesday, October 27, 12:30 P.M.

Event Location: Room 104, Osgoode

The recent decision in Bedford v. Canada, 2010 ONSC 4264 (text here) effectively resulted in the decriminalization of prostitution in Canada, as the offences of living on the avails of prostitution, communicating for the purpose of prostitution and keeping a common bawdy-house were found to violate section 7 of the Charter. 

Lost in the churn of sensational media coverage and the shouts of jubilation and outrage that arose from various corners, however, was any real treatment of the reasoning that underlay the decision itself.  How were the issues framed and pleaded by the litigants?  What concept of public morality and the role of the state came to the fore in the submissions of the parties, and how did they attempt to sell the court on their perspective?  Finally, is the decision a victory for libertarianism over prurience, or was the result arrived at more pragmatically, ie. because of inconsistencies in the way in which Parliament has attempted to regulate prostitution?

On Wednesday, October 27 at 12:30 P.M. in Room 104, please join Osgoode's professor Alan Young, counsel for Terri Jean Bedford, for a candid account of what happened in the case, why it did, and what it implies for constitutional litigation in Canada.

The Executive of the Criminal Law Society convened its first meeting of the 2010-11 academic year on 2 September 2010. The minutes of that meeting are available here.