When an accused person is denied bail and they have to wait in custody until their matter is dealt with, this is often called …
Pre-sentence custody and enhanced credit
Pre-sentence custody refers to the period of time an individual spends in jail awaiting the completion of their matters. While some people facing criminal …
The Case for Decarceration
The latest statistics available tell us over 7,400 people were being held in custody in Ontario on average per day. Conditions in jails, including …
Complainant’s Retainer
Most people who think “criminal defence lawyer” think of the lawyer representing the accused. However, we know that complainants (the person who made the …
Record Suspensions
Record suspensions, sometimes referred to as pardons, remove eligible Canadians’ criminal records from the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database. The purpose of getting …
Racial Bias in Juries
A previous blog post discussed anti-Black racism and its impact on the criminal justice system (CJS). Juries play an important role in the CJS, …
Judge-Led Intensive Case Management Certificates (JICMC)
Recently, Ontario announced the Judge-Led Intensive Case Management Certificates (JICMC) program, which will give limited-scope legal-aid certificates to unrepresented accused. These certificates cover resolution …
Anti-Black Racism and the Canadian Criminal Justice System
Black people in Canada are overrepresented in the Canadian Criminal Justice System (CJS). According to a 2017 report by the John Howard Society, Black …
National Truth and Reconciliation Day and the Overrepresentation of Indigenous People in the Canadian Criminal Justice System
September 30th 2021 marked the first annual National Truth and Reconciliation Day in Canada. Courts, amongst other businesses and services were closed, to give …
Can the Police Track your Cell Phone in a Criminal Investigation?
The short answer: it depends. Police may sometimes wish to locate a person in a criminal investigation by tracking or “pinging” their cell phone. …