Toronto Criminal Lawyer

Karen M. McArthur

Tag Archives: opinion

Toronto Police to issue receipts for ‘carding’ stops

Posted on by Posted in Blog Entry

20130705-082449.jpg

I applaud this latest police initiative. Accountability and transparency drives this change.
All too often, in the criminal justice system, we heard stories of civilians being stopped without rhyme or reason. Often the motive pointed to was racism.
Police officers will still card but now civilians will have paper proof that they were carded and by whom. I hope that the paper trail will foster better relations between the police and the public. No doubt, some will embrace the receipt concept, others will simply tear it up.

Balancing Lawyering and Motherhood

Posted on by Posted in Blog Entry

photo

Mother’s Day is Sunday. My youngest bursting with pride presented me with my Mother’s Day gift yesterday. Carefully wrapped with tissue paper and tied off with a teacher’s bow. Inside lay a frame of my son’s art and carefully hand printed rendition of Mommy stuff. My Mom’s name is Karen. My Mom is Nis. My Mom loves Sports.

Apparently, my other two are hard at work on their Mother’s Day gifts and I will receive them Sunday morning. I await with bated breath.

This morning’s Globe and Mail contained Sarah Hampson’s piece on motherhood. It resonated deeply.

She writes,” I think every mother knows, not necessarily right away but little by little with each passing year, that motherhood has shaped her differently. We get stretch marks of the heart and mind.” According to research cited by Sarah, motherhood changes women’s brains, with an increasing volume of grey matter in the mid-brain section. She cites Katherine Ellison’s, The Mommy Brain, for the proposition that bump-dom brings increased perception, resiliency, motivation and EQ. Continue reading →

Constitutional Safeguards

Posted on by Posted in Blog Entry

images-1One of my very first cases as an articling student at McCarthy and McCarthy as it then was, involved margarine. Warehouses full of the wrong coloured margarine were locked down as the colour violated regulatory requirements, that margarine be a different colour than butter. No false advertising. I remember the urgency of trying to deal with the search warrant and the return/preservation of the product. I had nightmares, brought on by my trauma of being thrust into articling hell, about rivers of my client’s melting product wading through London, Ontario.

During the course of my articling year, I then became involved with a second case,where on behalf of margarine manufacturers, we brought a constitutional challenge under the Charter, arguing that the regulatory requirements violated our clients’ freedom of expression.

Continue reading →

Today is the 20th anniversary of a free world wide web

Posted on by Posted in Blog Entry
Original WWW proposal

Original WWW proposal

Started from the work of astrophysicists and scientists. I was first introduced to its notion, May 19, 1996 through a dear friend, an astrophysicist turned lawyer, in a Left Bank bar, when he tried to explain his PsiOn to me.

Now 20 years later, hyperconnectivity buzzes our days. Education on every subject imaginable is only a key stroke or two away.

Harvard Law School Offers ‘Tax Planning For Marijuana Dealers’—No Joke

Posted on by Posted in Blog Entry

tumblr_m7ewcmpBi91qcl8d8o1_500

This morning after dropping my three kids off at school, I was listening to the radio. Barack Obama quipped, ” I remember when Buzzfeed was just something I did in College.” A man of our times. How times have changed. From, Bill Clinton’s  line, ” I didn’t inhale”, to this.

Last night, I came across this article, “Harvard Law School Offers ‘Tax Planning For Marijuana Dealers’—No Joke”

As a mom and a criminal defence attorney, who has defended asundry marijuana cases over the years, from as minor as smoking a single joint, to sophisticated hydroponic pot growing operations in suburban basements, I reflect. What will I tell my kids? I plan on telling them to keep focused and that modern day boot leggers who ply their drug trade for profit, can put some pretty nasty stuff out on the streets.  Knowledge is power.

Read the entire article here

21st century – Criminal Remands

Posted on by Posted in Blog Entry

blind_justiceTechnology is available at our fingertips. Stuck inside our purses, our pockets, we whip out devices and we are connected to the world.

The criminal justice  system is based on notions of jurisdiction over the body and jurisdiction over the offence.  This compels a person facing criminal charges to appear before the courts to have their guilt or innocence determined. To get from arrest to trial, in Toronto courts, can take many housekeeping appearances or remands. When I started practising criminal defence work in 1991, the remands were far fewer. I recall setting many trial dates on the same day as the bail hearing was held. Now administrative hurdles must be crossed before trials can be set. Has the Crown provided full disclosure? Often this process itself can involve many remands before the answer is yes.  Is the accused going to retain counsel? Again, the answering of this question can involve many remands. Continue reading →

Best Comedy in Town…

Posted on by Posted in Blog Entry

shapeimage_1

 

Its happens almost every day. Somewhere, someone tries to pull a fast one on a court.

Once in a while, the court gets its revenge.

While this particular judgement is not done is a “Dr. Seuss” style, its still worth a read.  (Make your own Dr. Seuss poem here)

Kudos to Justice Fergus O’Donnell of the St. Catharines Ontario Court of Justice.

Read Justice O’Donnell’s hilarious judgement here.