Commentary
CityNews Interview about McArthur sentencing
Global News interview about bouncers
There’s a viral video going around at the moment of cell phone footage showing a bouncer punching a club patron after the patron threw water at the bouncer. I sat down with Ashley Molnar at Global News to answer questions about what amount of force a bouncer is allowed to use. Watch the full video below.
Criminal Code’s definition of “human being”: Daniel Lerner’s interview with CBC and a legal explanation
A tragic case has taken place in Montreal the other day, but it has led to an interesting legal issue.
A man stabs his pregnant spouse. The baby is delivered alive by C-section. A few hours later, the baby dies. The man is charged with murder of the baby.
Is that correct? Is it murder? CBC’s Mark Gollom asked me that very question. You can read my interview on the subject here.
You can also read below for a breakdown of why in Canadian criminal law it is murder – but why, if the baby had been stillborn, it would not.
Daniel Lerner interviewed by CTV about the Garland appeal
I was interviewed today by CTV regarding the Douglas Garland appeal. From what I can tell, this is will be the first time an appeal court has the opportunity to address the new consecutive parole ineligibility periods for multiple-murders. Garland is now tied with Bourque for the longest sentence ever in Canada (and Bourque chose not to appeal).
The full interview is below.
Beer can toss at Jays’ game and police decision to publish picture
Recently at a Blue Jays’ playoff game in Toronto, a fan threw a beer can at the field, missing a player from the opposing team. Toronto Police quickly released a picture of the suspect to the public who they wanted to identify.
Was that the right decision by the police? I, as well as a number of other lawyer were asked our opinion by CBC’s Mark Gollom here.
Elbowgate: was it really as assault? Interview with CBC’s Mark Gollom
During a bit of a dustup last week in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau grabbed an opposition MP’s arm without that person’s consent. His elbow also hit another opposition MP in the chest by accident. The opposition has made a lot of commotion about the whole incident, and the Prime Minister has made numerous apologies about his behaviour. This will probably all die down very soon. However, some opposition MPs have described the Prime Minister’s behaviour as a criminal assault.
Was it, though?
As I explained to CBC’s Mark Gollom in this interview, the answer may be more complicated than you would think.
Daniel Lerner interviewed by thecourt.ca on R. v. St. Cloud
thecourt.ca is a blog run by the students of the Osgoode Hall Law School where students write about recent cases from the Supreme Court of Canada. On occasion, they interview a lawyer familiar with the issue before the Supreme Court to answer questions about the case from a lawyer’s perspective.
Recently, I was interviewed by thecourt.ca about the Supreme Court of Canada’s recent decision in R. v. St. Cloud (which addresses certain grounds in the Criminal Code to deny bail, as well as the procedure for reviewing bail decisions). The article was published on August 18, 2015, and can be found by clicking here.
John Oliver on bail
I was going to write something this week about drinking and driving, the so-called “last drink defences”, and the problems of telling the police “I had nothing to drink” (you’ll have to read my next entry about that now).
I was definitely not going to write another entry about bail so soon after my last ones. I even managed to avoid being caught up with everyone’s urge to comment on the Supreme Court of Canada’s recent decision on bail in R. v. St. Cloud (essentially, the Court has made it much easier to detain people prior to their trial for serious offences, and time will tell how that will change the day-to-day running of the bail system).
However, I did not count on John Oliver broadcasting his piece last Sunday on bail. True, it is primarily dealing with bail in the United States, which is very, very different than bail in Canada. It is still entertaining to watch.
So, enjoy: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Bail (HBO)
(And for anyone watching this clip who works in the Bail Program or John Howard Society, definitely check out 13:48 onwards!)
Problems with our bail system
I was in bail court last week acting as duty counsel. While in court, I ended up assisting a defendant who was in custody awaiting bail. What happened in her case is a clear example of the problems that need fixing in our bail courts.
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