Webb Barristers

A worthwhile read on this day of reflection - click on the article for links to external reports.

"When clients disclose that they are Indigenous, this implies a higher duty of care. You have a responsibility, for instance, to work in accordance with trauma-informed principles. (The Canadian Bar Association offers training and online resources on this topic.) “If you ask people about their lives,” says Rudin, “you must be prepared for what they might tell you.” Listen to clients’ stories fully and sympathetically, not just as a means of getting pertinent information but also as a means of honouring a complex human experience. Try to minimize the degree of re-traumatization, while acknowledging that some amount is inevitable. And exercise discretion. “What a client shares with a lawyer or a Gladue writer,” says Rudin, “is not necessarily what they would want to share in open court.” (The Gladue principles, originally outlined in a 1999 Supreme Court decision, now compel judges to consider how a defendant’s Indigenous background or experience of colonization might be a factor when it comes to parole, bail, sentencing and other court decisions. Gladue writers prepare a case-specific report, presented to a judge in advance of a hearing, to explain the Gladue factors at play.)

The profession has not yet taken Rudin’s advice. Survey data suggests that lawyers spend less time with Indigenous clients than with non-Indigenous clients. That disparity likely helps to explain why — according to a report from the Public Prosecution Service of Canada — Indigenous people are more likely than others to be wrongfully convicted, to enter false guilty pleas or to be left in pre-trial detention without a bail hearing. (No doubt, this culture of neglect also affects Indigenous clients seeking support in non-criminal matters.) If your client is Indigenous, therefore, you have a moral and ethical responsibility to be extra attentive, in part to compensate for the general lack of attentiveness that lawyers still show the Indigenous community."

How can the legal profession advance reconciliation? Historically, the Canadian state has used the law to oppress and tyrannize Indigenous people

Honoured to be serving this year as the Communications Officer for the Criminal Justice section of The Canadian Bar Association / L'Association du Barreau canadien. Looking forward to a great year ahead!

Excited to be chairing this program next WEDNESDAY on Women in Criminal Law, with our fabulous line-up: the Honourable Justice Breese Davies, Mona Duckett, Isabel Schurman, and Lesley Pasquino. Open to anyone interested, and free for all Canadian Bar Association members. We will be taking questions from the audience, and registrants who attend the live webinar with us are eligible to win one of six copies of "Women in Criminal Justice: True Cases by and about Women and the Law". Click below for more details.

https://www.cbapd.org/details_en.aspx?id=na_NA22EDI03A

Third time's the charm... After being delayed twice due to Covid (irony), our webinar on 11(b) in the time of Covid is *finally* proceeding tomorrow at noon ET, with our panelists:
- The Honourable Justice Nick Devlin, Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta
- Frank Addario, of Addario Law Group LLP
- Liliane Bantourakis, Crown counsel at British Columbia Prosecution Service
- Maude Payette, Crown counsel at Directeur Des Poursuites Criminelles Et Penales
Materials will be provided and we'll be taking questions from the registrants. This webinar will also be available on demand for those who cannot join us.
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The Canadian Bar Association : Jordan Update: COVID Impact on the s. 11(b) Right to Trial Within a Reasonable Time This program will provide an update on the s. 11(b) Charter right to trial within a reasonable time and the many issues which have been resolved since the 2017 Jordan decision.