Criminal Offence Categories in Canada

Criminal Offence Categories in Canada

Author: Scott Raycroft-Wright

If you have spent any time around the criminal justice system in Canada, you may have heard the words “summary” and “indictable” used in relation to criminal offences. These terms refer to the classification of the offence, which can affect things like the limitations period, available sentences, and eligibility for record suspensions. When facing a criminal charge it is important to know the difference between the categories so you can know what to expect.

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First…….let’s Kill All The Lawyers  Shakespeare, Henry VI

"First…….let’s Kill All The Lawyers” Shakespeare, Henry VI

Author: Ruth Roberts

My favorite fictional character, and professional role model, Rumpole of the Bailey, was notorious for quoting at length from Shakespeare, and the classics. It is often a guilty pleasure of mine. How better to express all the grandeur and tragedy and nuance of humanity, than through the golden eloquence of some of the greatest writers of all time? They were able to distill overwhelming events into understandable and manageable paragraphs; they were able to poignantly sum up human emotion, so it became somehow contained. And so, in these times that have so tried our souls, the words of the Bard are more needed than ever.

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Criminal Record Suspension

Criminal Record Suspension

As of January 1, 2022, the fee to apply for a criminal record suspension has been reduced from $657.77 to $50. If you or someone you know has wanted to apply for a record suspension but has been putting it off because of the cost, now would be a great time to apply! If you or someone you know has a criminal record but is not familiar with the record suspension process, read on for a quick summary.

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Ruth Roberts

February 2022

On a sunny, cold and sparkling February day, twenty-three years ago, I stepped onto the stage at Roy Thompson Hall – and into my future as a criminal defence lawyer. It was a future that ten years before I could not have imagined, but life has a way of taking us to the places we need to be.

How I came to law as a mature student is a story for another time. But I was incredibly fortunate to be accepted into Osgoode Hall Law School. In Life Before Law School I had been deeply involved in community activism, speaking out for people in my community, and advocating for services for disadvantaged people. So perhaps it’s not surprising that in second year law school criminal law sidled up to me with the smile of a guileless child, and tapped me on the shoulder and said “you are mine!” And so I was, and so I am.

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Expert Witness

The Critical Importance of Expert Witnesses in Medical Malpractice Cases

Practicing medical malpractice law in Canada is fraught with risk. Interestingly, medical doctors in Canada, for the most part, are not insured in the traditional sense. Rather, they are part of the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) that acts similar to an insurer. That is, if a medical doctor is sued, the CMPA will invariably defend the medical doctor and in rare cases pay a settlement to the injured plaintiffs. If the plaintiff succeeds at trial, the CMPA pays the damages on behalf of the medical doctor. The complicated funding of the CMPA is best left to another post on its own. For now, I want to highlight how risky these cases are and the need for highly qualified and appropriate expert witnesses.

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Twenty Years in the Trenches an Anniversary Celebration

The Day was as bright and hard as a diamond, and filled with tiny sparks of ice, like confetti in the morning sun. It was a day much like my first Christmas in Canada, and it felt like all my Christmases, rolled into one. I was middle-aged, dressed in my brand-new robes, and about to be called to the Bar. It was twenty years ago, and the memory of that day is as bright and fresh and wonderful to me as ever.

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