Canada and the World Backgrounder articles from March 2004

Canada and the World Backgrounder archives from March 2004

Why we have the rule of law; the law is impartial; it favours no one. That's why we have it.(The Law--Introduction)
March 1, 2004... The second week of March 2004 was normal in the news business. Pages and screens were filled with stories about the usual suspects--people who decided the law did not apply to them. Among the drunk drivers, purse snatchers, and drug dealers...

Lawmakers by default; being a referee is a tough job; no matter which way he or she calls the play a lot of people are going to cheer and a lot are going to boo. The referees would likely become even more controversial if they started re-writing the rules in the middle of the game.(The Law--Supreme Court)
March 1, 2004... "Who elected them to make the law anyway?" That's a common question anytime the Supreme Court of Canada hands down a decision that affects the law of the land. The answer is that in Canada judges are not elected. Some are elected in the United...

The overseers: the legal profession is self-regulating; some think that's a good idea, some think it isn't.(The Law--Judicial Watchdogs)
March 1, 2004... A decade ago, in 1994, there were so many claims against crooked and sloppy lawyers whose actions cost their clients' money that the Law Society, of Upper Canada had to raise $122 million to pay the awards. The Society had such a huge increase...

... Pssst: an RCMP raid on a journalist's home, in January 2004, raises questions about the media's role as society's watchdog and guardian of the fights of others.(Law--Media/Civil Rights)
March 1, 2004... Here's what John Ibbitson wrote in the Globe and Mail the day after the Mounties swooped on journalist Juliet O'Neill's house and office in January 2004: "If you call a national-affairs reporter, today, we can't promise you our phones aren't...

Drawing the line: police officers have a tough job; they have to deal with some of the worst problems in our society, but they also have enormous power, which some abuse. Critics say police need an independent watchdog to handle complaints.(The Law-Policing)
March 1, 2004... The job of a police officer is very difficult. There is the business of dealing with the scum of society. There is the need to keep your cool in emotionally charged situations. There is the feeling that often the bad guys seem to have more...

Capturing the innocent: Donald Marshall, David Milgaard, Guy Paul Morin, Romeo Phillion, Thomas Sophonow, Stephen Truscott, and others are the high-profile cases--men convicted of murders they didn't commit.(The Law-Wrongful Convictions)
March 1, 2004... Murder is a relatively rare crime and so serious that extra care is taken in prosecution and trial. But, there have been so many people wrongfully convicted of taking the lives of others that Ottawa has appointed a retired judge, Bernard...

Slamming secrecy: there's that old phrase that 'Justice should not only be done, but it should be seen to be done." So, civil libertarians always get upset when legal business is conducted behind closed doors.(The Law-Openness)
March 1, 2004... The recent matter of a secret trial into bribery allegations involving Ottawa's purchase of helicopters from a German company called Eurocopter put the issue of secret court hearings into focus. The secret proceed-rags included a sealing order...

Justice delayed: the law is a living thing--it changes over time. Whenever the legal system is seen to be in need of reform a process is put underway that eventually brings about change. And, a lot of people think Canada's justice system needs repairing.(The Law-Reform)
March 1, 2004... Several years ago, in 2000, the Law Commission of Canada reported on our legal system. It said that both the general public and professionals are concerned that current policy and practices in both the civil and the criminal justice systems...

Quote ... Unquote.
March 1, 2004... "Without an unfettered press, without liberty of speech, all of the outward forms and structures of free institutions are a sham, a pretense--the sheerest mockery. If the press is not free; if speech is not independent and untrammeled; if the...