Self Defence Rejected As Young Accused Convicted of Murder

BC Supreme Court Judge Convicts Youth Of MurderA stabbing at a rock concert on Vancouver Island has led to the conviction of a young person for second degree murder. The accused, whose name was redacted to prevent his identification in public, had argued that the he used a knife to defend himself. The trial judge rejected the defence, and found him guilty. the case is called R. v. B.S.A. 2012 BCSC 1167.

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Section 810 Peace Bonds

Peace Bonds Are A Form Of Preventive JusticeEnglish common law gave a justice of the peace the power to subject citizens to an order binding them to keep the peace and be of good behaviour when the justice believed that the citizen would likely do something to breach the peace. The power was preventive rather than penal in character: the purpose of the order was to maintain order and preserve the peace.

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BC Court of Appeal Considers Scheduling Challenges Faced In BC Provincial Court

Cocaine Trafficking Case Halted After Five Years, When Judge Held That The Delay Was UnreasonableThe British Columbia Court of Appeal upheld a trial judge's order staying proceedings against two men charged with drug offences, as a remedy for a five year delay in bringing the complicated case to trial. In the Court of Appeal, Madam Justice Catherine Ryan made pointed comments about the difficulties in trial scheduling for a court dealing simultaneously with rising case loads and decreasing resources. The decision is cited as R. v. Horner, 2012 BCCA 7.

Cocaine Trafficking

Jason James Horner was stopped in a vehicle with another man on a highway near Chilliwack on September 29, 2004. He was charged, along with five others in a four-count information alleging a number of conspiracies to import or traffic cocaine, on October 15, 2004.

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Criminal Law Issues To Watch In 2012: Tides Of Change

The New Year Will Bring Changes In BC Criminal Law

The New Year will sweep in changes to criminal law in British Columbia, and to the way that BC criminal lawyers practice their profession. The year will bring new laws, challenges for the allocation of resources in the justice system, and ongoing debate about the ways to respond to high profile trials like those for people charged in the Vancouver Riot or for police officers accused of breaking the law. As always, feel free to add your comments in the section below the post. 

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Criminal Lawyers Deal With Arrest Issues, Like This Woman With Video Camera Arrested For Not Following Police Orders

Criminal lawyers deal with the issue of police powers of arrest almost every day. Here is a video taken by a woman in Rochester NY, who was arrested for not following police orders. She was standing on her front lawn viseo taping the police while they arrested another person. The police said she made them feel unsafe, somehow, and ordered her into her house. She didn't go. She was arrested.

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