Thursday, October 9. 2013

Today's schedule is D-AG-C-B-A

D Block Law 12 - Today we'll start by going through your "Burning Law Questions" that you submitted last week to the Law Question box. Next we will be looking at the Criminal Code of Canada and we will focus our attention on violent crimes - specifically the categories of homicide in Canada. We'll learn the difference between culpable and non-culpable homicide and examine the levels of murder (first and second degree) as well as manslaughter (voluntary and involuntary). We'll look at R. v. Nette (2001) and answer questions 1-4 on the case together and to end the class I'll have you work on questions 1-5 on page 221 of the All About Law text. The Nette case deals with "causation" and murder which helps with the questions (1-5 on p. 221). In terms of the Nette case and causation the citation states:

A 95-year-old widow who lived alone was robbed and left bound with electrical wire on her bed with a garment around her head and neck. Sometime during the next 48 hours, she died from asphyxiation. During an RCMP undercover operation, the accused told a police officer that he had been involved in the robbery and death. The accused was charged with first degree murder under s. 231(5) of the Criminal Code -- murder while committing the offence of unlawful confinement -- and tried before a judge and jury. At trial, he claimed that he had fabricated the admission. He testified that he had gone alone to the victim’s house only with intent to break and enter, that the back door to the house was open as though someone already had broken into the home, and that he left after finding the victim already dead in her bedroom. The trial judge charged the jury on manslaughter, second degree murder and first degree murder under s. 231(5) of the Code. In response to a request from the jury that he clarify the elements of first degree murder and the “substantial cause” test, the trial judge essentially reiterated his charge. Overall, he charged that the standard of causation for manslaughter and second degree murder was that the accused’s actions must have been “more than a trivial cause” of the victim’s death while, for first degree murder under s. 231(5), the accused’s actions also must have been a “substantial cause” of her death. On two occasions, however, once in the main charge and once in the re-charge, he described the standard of causation for second degree murder as “the slight or trivial cause necessary to find second degree murder” instead of “more than a trivial cause”. The jury found the accused guilty of second degree murder and the Court of Appeal upheld that verdict. The only ground of appeal both before the Court of Appeal and this Court concerned the test of causation applicable to second degree murder.

C Block Criminology 12 - I did say quiz today but that's impossible because we haven't finished the unit on violence yet. Today we'll end our discussion on terrorism and I'll move the quiz on violent crime to next Wednesday (Oct 16th). For information on terrorism check out:
Terrorism Watch and Warning
DHS Preventing Terrorism
Global Terrorism Database
FBI Terrorism
Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada Terrorism
National Counterterrorism Center

B Block Social Studies 10 - Today we'll finish our look at the Underground Railroad and Mary Ann Shadd and I'll ask you to complete question 4 from page 64 of the Horizons text. After this, we'll talk about the colonial government in Upper and Lower Canada and see why they were a cause for rebellion in both colonies. We'll look at the list of grievances in Upper Canada and the unique situation in Lower Canada (Quebec) specifically we'll see how economic problems, language and nationalism were contributors to discontent. Finally I'll have you work on questions 1, 2 & 3 on page 72 of the Horizons textbook.

A Block Law 9/10 - Today we will continue our look at crime scene investigation and you'll have time to work on your fingerprint graph assignment in class. Don't forget that the computer program that identifies digital fingerprints is called AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System). Next we will look at ballistics, fibres and the collection and processing of DNA evidence. Together as a class, we will work through the Rookie Training simulation on the  Rice University's CSI: The Experience Web Adventure . We'll do the training for Forensic Biology (DNA), Toxicology, Firearms and Toolmarks (Ballistics), Medical Examiner (Pathologist) and CSI Ethics. On Monday you'll have a quiz on the last eight pages of the course handout (on the forensic examination of the evidence collected at crime scenes).