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Imagine, after years of hard work, your dream startup is about to launch. The website is ready to go, marketing has been fully deployed, and investors are knocking on your door. Everything seems to be falling into place, but then you have a personal encounter with the police that throws everything into disarray. Criminal charges are filed against you out of the blue, and now you have to wonder about potential investors finding out. Is there a way out? Maybe… let’s discuss.

At first glance, Edmonton (Police Service) v. McKee appears to be a case about an expunged disciplinary record. Look a little closer, however, and it becomes something much bigger. It is a case about constitutional supremacy. More specifically, it asks whether administrative convenience can ever outweigh an accused’s right to make full answer and defence.

Our client was charged with Criminal Harassment following allegations arising from the breakdown of a personal relationship. The complainant alleged that he engaged in repeated unwanted communication and conduct that caused her to fear for her safety.

It can not be overstated how emotionally and morally loaded suicide and assisted suicide are as topics. Everyone has strong feelings one way or another, and with good reason. Still, these are important conversations to have nowadays. We are more aware than ever right now about just how important it is to properly manage mental health and also how important bodily autonomy is to a person. Trying to balance these two principles is difficult, and often painful, in practice.

What is desuetude? Desuetude is a legal principle wherein law falls into effective nonexistence after a deliberate and sustained period of disuse because its use has become something that ought not be done. Usually, desuetude is enforced by tremendous political, rather than legal, consequences. Technically, there are two kinds of desuetude: statutory and constitutional; only the latter is valid in Canada.

Aargh! Shiver me timbers! Walk the plank! These are just a few of the iconic catchphrases we’ve attributed to the thieves of the sea. We’ve mythologized pirates so much that it can be easy to forget that they actually do still exist in the modern day, although it must be noted, in not very significant numbers. How does modern piracy fit into the modern Canadian Legal Landscape?

Death and the law are two topics that go hand in hand. Both are unavoidable and omnipresent in our lives. Outside of the infamous murder charge though, most people pay very little attention to the intersection between death and the law. This is a shame, because quite frankly it is an incredibly interesting topic in its own right. So today we’re going to go over a few points about death and the law that may well be worth knowing.

The Law is not a simple subject, but nor is it complex in every instance. Clarity has been a priority for as long as Canada has been a country, but much of the time, that clarity is thwarted by the real world. To me, that statement brings two topics to the front and centre of my mind: Indigenous land rights and sexual assault cases.

Guns are a fundamental right, from the Second Amendment! Oh, wait, what? Our Second Amendment is actually the Temporary Government of Rupert’s Land Act? From 1869? Ohhhh, I had forgotten that I wasn’t American, silly me!

This week, we are highlighting a recent resolution by our lawyer Richard Aitken and paralegal Melanie Van Aarde. Our client was charged with criminal harassment, mischief under $5000 and obstruction of property following an argument with her boyfriend. During this argument, it was alleged that our client, Ms. S, had been trying to prevent her boyfriend from leaving by taking his car key and attempting to block his car from moving.