What is this feeling … hope?

I realize posting this here is preaching to the choir. But after the Grok White Genocide thing & Ye essentially launching an exclusive Neo Nazi single on the platform... I felt motivated to write about X and how bizarre it is that so many people (news outlets, celebrities, politicians) use it

Up early to watch the SCC hearing in AG Quebec v. Kanyinda, the Court's first s 15 equality rights case since Sharma in 2022. The AG QB is appealing the Court of Appeal's holding that failure to provide refugee claimants with a child care subsidy available to other parents violates s 15.

58% of women in prison are mothers to minor children. Of those women, most are single mothers. Hundreds of births take place in prisons and jails every year, often with the baby immediately separated from the parent after birth. Families belong together, not separated by prison bars.

R v McGowan-Morris, 2025 ONCA 349: Rights to counsel are not suspended during Cannabis Act searches. Trotter JA distinguishes Orbanski and finds that failure to provide RTC at the outset of a CCA search infringes s. 10(b) of the Charter. Link here: coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...

Saw this great show at TMU’s (free!) campus gallery this weekend. A collection of extra-terrestrial photography from the 50s to now. Space is so weird. Highly recommend!

A sweeping report by the province’s human rights watchdog into systemic anti-Black racism in schools is calling on government, boards, unions and universities to take greater action in dismantling long-standing barriers affecting students.

R v Bechamp, 2025 ONCA 223: A Garofoli challenge, by itself, is not sufficient to render a case “complex” within the meaning of Jordan. Link here: coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...

A distinct pleasure, Paul! We also had the good fortune of defending a record expertly built by Susan Pennypacker, Lauren Wilhelm, and Adam Newman at trial. Crown appeal dismissed without calling on the respondents. A first for me!

Going to try posting more on here instead of lurking so much. Anyone watching The Pitt?

“This is a huge victory for prisoner rights,” said Samara Secter, a lawyer at Addario Law Group LLP in Toronto, who represented an intervener in the case, the Queen’s Prison Law Clinic. “A prison is not a Charter-free zone.” www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

So proud of this result. Appeal allowed. The credibility and reliability, including children and adults testifying about traumatic events, is the daily fare of judges and is grounded in common knowledge and experience. No expert evidence needed. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/i...

Nice piece as always from Jacques Gallant. My comment: it's one thing to question if deterrence works, it's another to prioritize a theory over something that is clearly working in practice. www.thestar.com/news/toronto...

Utterly abhorrent. [T]he court saw “criminal acts occur towards prisoners,”... and noted how the video showed jail officials “fist-bumping in what appeared to be a congratulatory fashion” during the operation. We've been trying to tell you....

"Those who are easiest to catch, prosecute and subject to long and punitive prison sentences are not the kingpins of the drug world." brilliant @kpateonthehill.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

We are hiring! Rudnicki & Company is looking for a junior associate to support our criminal appellate practice. If you want to work with a progressive team while gaining hands-on experience with a competitive and specialized area of criminal law, this job is for you. Please share widely!

Illicit internet access is rampant in Canadian prisons. When will Corrections facilitate legitimate internet access and vastly reduce the contraband cell phone market? Paul Quick of the @queensulaw.bsky.social Prison Clinic with a powerful solution for the problem. www.ctvnews.ca/canada/artic...

This week I will once again teach R v Friesen alongside the work of @maybell.bsky.social. I send her article Ruined and this podcast to my students, makes for really excellent discussion: www.listennotes.com/podcasts/sup...

It's that time of year! Rudnicki & Company is recruiting for our student program once again. This year, we are hiring for two roles: a 2025 summer student and a 2025-2026 articling student. Detailed job descriptions can be found here: www.rudnickilaw.com/hiring.

Another decision on the need to respect individualized proportionality in sentencing for all crimes, including sexual offences. “Exceptional” work by defence counsel Laura Remigio.

As always, eternally grateful that 2015 was Canada's last election under First Past the Post because otherwise we'd be in for a very bleak four years coming up

I don’t understand how we can’t just put breathalyzers in every car.

The SCC will hear arguments on Feb. 11-12, 2025 about recognizing a new tort of family violence. Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia has sparked debate and attracted 17 interveners. Should the common law evolve to better address family violence? #FamilyLaw #SCC www.law360.ca/ca/articles/...

I wouldn’t exactly call it “joyful,” but this @lilianasegura.bsky.social piece on the death row reaction to Biden’s commutations is about as close to Christmas cheer as death penalty reporting gets. theintercept.com/2024/12/24/b...

Just in time for the holidays, the latest issue of the Canadian Bar Review is out. Le dernier numéro de la Revue est en ligne. Virtual family law, class action fees, ABR in sentencing, commercial arb, race & housing, penalty clauses, equitable remedies. Thx to my fellow eds Profs Aoun & Deslauriers.

Eyebrow-raising dissent from Justice Hourigan in AA v ZM, 2024 ONCA 923. Very rare to see such intemperate language at ONCA: "unprecedented, wrong in law, and internally inconsistent". One wonders if he might have chosen his words differently if dissenting from a majority made up by male colleagues.

Congratulations to Justice Mizel on her appointment! She was the Crown in my first ever trial as a law student in 2013. She was the picture of fairness and kindness. She will make an excellent judge. news.ontario.ca/en/bulletin/...

What a wonderful appointment. Congratulations Justice Cudjoe!

Last scheduled day in court for 2024. Client’s plea to murder set aside as a miscarriage of justice and new trial ordered. Not a bad way to close out the year. Happy holidays!

really good piece about what justice and healing might actually look like for survivors of childhood abuse newrepublic.com/article/1883...

Pretty extraordinary that this opinion—purported to be about protecting Indigenous women—fails to argue (or even identify) how increased sentences for Indigenous men would accomplish that goal.

Reviewing and revising my advanced crim syllabus for next semester… getting excited!

Coming from BC this has never stopped being a very strange Ontario thing to me. The stats are pretty clear the BC way is better, time for change.

Deaths of 9 Indigenous people at the hands of police in one month fuel renewed calls for justice: www.thestar.com/news/canada/...

Glad to see this issue getting some attention. No one who prosecutes or defends sexual offence cases believes the system treats victims fairly. "Are stiff sexual assault sentences deterring pleas, forcing too many victims to testify?" www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

If governments adopt policies that put lives or health at risk, and do so contrary to principles of rationality, necessity or proportionality, they are violating s.7 of the Charter. Governments that close life-saving services without persuasive evidence-based reasons should face s.7 trouble in court

@ftanguay-renaud.bsky.social Welcome brother! It’s a little quiet here still but definitely better than the Other Place.

All right, @sewrattanlaw.bsky.social is here, Twitter is finally over

Congrats to Theresa Donkor on joining the faculty of the National Symposium on Sexual Assault Cases. She brings a unique perspective as a lawyer who represents both complainants (on ss. 276-278 hearings) and defendants (on appeal). Well worth signing up for this year's symposium to see her speak!

Going to migrate my social media presence here, starting today. Follow me for posts about how we might navigate the progressive currents of the law towards a more humane and just world. To start -- here's a rare picture of our small but mighty team at Rudnicki & CompanY!

What do we think… is this where we’re all coming after Twitter?