
Maximum: Restorative Justice
Photo by Ron Lach at Pexels By Lino Matteo | May 1, 2024 Julius Melnitzer’s Maximum Medium Minimum is more than one man’s journey through the Canadian penitentiary system. It also starkly shows the weakness and foolishness of our entire judicial system. It is supposed to be there to protect society, and to help rehabilitate; instead, […]

Knock at your door: why the police can make themselves at home
By Yasmina Aldohan | September 20, 2023 The Supreme Court of Canada’s 2022 split decision in R. v. Stairs may well have the unfortunate consequence of allowing police responding to a call from a private residence too much latitude in making themselves at home when they get there. Five members of the court ruled that […]

OCA orders new trial for accused whose lawyer ‘conscripted him into assisting his own prosecution’
The Ontario Court of Appeal said counsel’s incompetence was ‘pervasive.’ By Julius Melnitzer | December 31, 2022 The Ontario Court of Appeal has ordered a new trial for an accused whose lawyer, Toronto’s Janice R. Johnson, a 35-year veteran of the criminal bar, “conscripted [him] into assisting his own prosecution.” The OCA’s reasons are damning. […]

OCA expands grounds for reversal of HIV-related non-disclosure sexual assault convictions
Wayne Cunningham says Rubara goes beyond existing scientific consensus By Julius Melnitzer | October 28, 2022 The Ontario Court of Appeal has overturned a six-year-old aggravated sexual assault conviction of a man who did not disclose his HIV-positive status to a sexual partner of three months’ standing. The decision in R. v. Rubara expands on the court’s […]

LSO revokes license of ‘ungovernable’ Hamilton lawyer
Gavin MacKenzie says a penalty for ungovernability other than revocation is hard to justify By Julius Melnitzer | October 24, 2022 In a rare finding, the Law Society Tribunal has revoked the license of Hamilton lawyer Gerald Culliton on the ground that he was “ungovernable.” “Often, ungovernable lawyers are found guilty of other serious professional […]

Trial judge may consider accused’s Indigeneity in criminal records admissibility determination: OCA
Decision dispels controversy about whether Gladue principles apply to trial process By Julius Melnitzer | September 30, 2022 The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that trial judges may consider an accused’s Indigeneity in determining whether their criminal records are admissible in cross-examination. “This is an important and helpful legal precedent on an issue that […]