Category Archives: Human Rights

It’s dirty work (and lawyers get to do it)

Posted on April 4, 2013 by

Canadian Lawyer‘s Gail Cohen praises the late Doug Christie for representing people many lawyers wouldn’t touch: Christie, often called The Battling Barrister or Counsel for the Damned, became notorious for his defence of some of the most reviled hatemongers in … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitutional Law, Constitutional Law (USA), Criminal Law, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Book review: A Cruel Arithmetic: Inside the Case Against Polygamy by Craig Jones

Posted on January 22, 2013 by

[Originally posted at Canadian Lawyer] When s. 293 of the Criminal Code of Canada was referred to the British Columbia Supreme Court, I wrote that I believed the law was clearly unconstitutional in its current form: If this case was about legal recognition … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Canadian Politics, Family Law, Freedom of Religion, Human Rights, Marriage, Polygamy | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book review: “From the Closet to the Altar”

Posted on October 7, 2012 by

[Originally posted at Canadian Lawyer] In 1957, a prominent American group denounced homosexuality as “socially heretical or deviant,” and determined that laws against it posed no constitutional problems. That organization: the American Civil Liberties Union. For years thereafter, “sodomy” was a … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Human Rights, Same-Sex Marriage | 1 Comment

Omar Khadr and the rule of law

Posted on July 19, 2012 by

Dan Gardner explains that the Khadr case is not about national security so much as it’s about holding the federal government to its obligations under the constitution: In 2010, a federal court judge agreed that the involvement of Canadian officials … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Human Rights, Supreme Court of Canada | Leave a comment

Roach v. The Queen

Posted on July 4, 2012 by

A Toronto lawyer is pursuing legal action against the requirement that new Canadian citizens swear an oath to the country’s formal Head of State: Charles Roach estimates he has at least a year and a half left to live before … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Constitutional Law, Human Rights | 2 Comments

“How About Defending Speech Because It’s Speech, Not Because You Agree With It?”

Posted on May 24, 2012 by

I want to print this post from Popehat, frame it and mount it on my wall. …Say that someone sues, or threatens, or abuses someone whose ideas you despise, someone whose good faith you doubt, someone working for political or social ends you … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitutional Law, Constitutional Law (USA), Freedom of Expression, Human Rights | Leave a comment

The other “Jesus shirt” case

Posted on May 24, 2012 by

Nova Scotians who followed the “Life is Wasted Without Jesus” controversy may be interested in this markedly similar case from Ohio, where a student’s T-shirt was banned because of a controversial religious message. The difference? In the Ohio case, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitutional Law, Constitutional Law (USA), Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Religion, Human Rights | 1 Comment
Posted on April 17, 2012 by

Andrew Coyne, not surprisingly, has the best take I’ve read on the anniversary of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and what the rule of law truly means: That we have become a noticeably freer and fairer country in the 30 … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitutional Law, Human Rights | Leave a comment

Review: “You Can’t Read This Book” by Nick Cohen

Posted on March 19, 2012 by

(Originally posted, in slightly different form, at Canadian Lawyer) Britain’s plaintiff-friendly libel laws are so infamous, they’ve even inspired a gag on South Park.  In the notorious “Trapped in the Closet” episode, young Stan Marsh – thought to be the reincarnation of … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights, Media | Leave a comment

Review – The Church of Scientology: A History of a New Religion by Hugh B. Urban

Posted on September 19, 2011 by

[A version of this review originally appeared at CanadianLawyerMag.com.] An academic history of the Church of Scientology might not seem relevant to lawyers, unless you’re familiar with the controversial movement’s use of the justice system against its many detractors. Founder … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Freedom of Religion, Human Rights, Intellectual Property, Media | 1 Comment