Congratulations to Edelson Foord’s Tony Paciocco on winning Queen’s University, Faculty of Law’s 2023 Dan Soberman Award. The Dan Soberman Award is awarded to Queen’s Law alumni who have graduated within the last 10 years and who have demonstrated promising future leadership through outstanding professional achievement.
I was charged as a youth so there is no risk of getting a criminal record, right? Not exactly. In the Canadian criminal justice system it is well-recognized that young persons are to be treated differently than adults, with a particular focus on their diminished moral culpability. In fact, this is a guiding principle as set out in s.3(2) of…
This is the second part of a two-part blog on “Use of Records in Defending Sexual Offence Charges.” Read our first blog here. Over the past 30-odd years, both legislators and Canadian courts have gradually reshaped the law as it relates to sexual offences. First, “twin myth” reasoning was outlawed under s.276 of the Criminal Code of Canada, specifically, the…
In December 2018, amendments to the Criminal Code (sections 278.92 to 278.94) came into force which, for the first time, required defendants in sexual assault cases to disclose material in their possession to the prosecutor (the Crown) and to the complainant before being allowed to use that material at trial. In the years following the amendments, some lower courts had…
If you’re arrested inside your home, can police search parts of your home without a warrant? This blog provides preliminary legal information about the power to search a home incident to arrest.
The police do not have the authority to arrest someone engaging in lawful conduct in order to prevent others from breaching the peace.. This blog explores the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Fleming v. Ontario, a decision which placed additional limits on police powers.
Entrapment or the rule against entrapment is a limit on how police conduct their investigations. This blog provides preliminary information about this unilegal defence.
Introducing Edelson Foord Law.
We’re thrilled to welcome Principal Partner James Foord , Partner Brandon Crawford and Law Clerk / Business Manager Erin Stafford to 200 Elgin, and to announce the launch of our new criminal defence firm, Edelson Foord Law.
Valérie Bégin and Robin McLachlen, our Articling Students from 2021-2022, will also be joining the firm as Associates in July and August.
Tony Paciocco has been appointed a Partner at the firm.
Why Do We Have the Presumption of Innocence? Famed American educator and diplomat Kingman Brewster once explained that the presumption of innocence, when approached in commonsense terms, “rests on that generosity of spirit which assumes the best, not the worst, of the stranger.” In Canada, we take this same approach. In fact, the presumption of innocence is not just a…
A Brief History of the Law Relating to Marihuana in Canada Before the Cannabis Act In the 1920s, the Canadian government criminalized cannabis (Opium and Narcotic Drug Act, 1923). In 1937, someone was arrested and charged with marihuana possession for the first time in Canadian history. The message at the time was clear: marihuana was not just bad, it was…