Sunday, October 26, 2014

Monday, October 27. 2014

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

A & C Blocks Social Studies 10 - Today we'll look at the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman and Mary Ann Shadd and you'll need to add question 4 from page 64 of the Horizons text and the following:

Using pages 60 – 64 of the Horizons textbook explain the significance (importance) of Mary Ann Shadd in early Canadian history (why is she important to know about)? Think about the role of women in society and the attitudes towards minorities (non-white) in Canada at the time.

For more on the Underground Railroad see:

The Underground Railroad (Scholastic)
The Underground Railroad (National Geographic)
Tracks to Freedom: Canada & The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad: Freedom Trail
PBS Africans in America: The Underground Railroad
Mary Ann Shadd Biography
Black History Canada: The Underground Railroad
If there's time, I'll talk with you a bit about the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum at the Burkle Estate that I visited in Memphis Tennessee. The map above will help you visualize the routes to Canada. Monday sees us look at the characters involved in the Upper Canada Rebellion.

B Block Law 12 - Please read through "Parties to an Offence" in the All About Law text from pages 131-133 (Aiding or Abetting and Accessory After the Fact) and complete questions 1-3 on page 133. From the Halton District School Board in Ontario:

The Perpetrator: is the person who actually commits the criminal offence. When more than one person is directly involved in committing a crime, they are called co-perpetrators. In every case, the person actually has to be present at the scene of the offence to be identified as either a perpetrator of co-perpetrator. A person who commits an offence, aids a person to commit an offence, or abets a person in committing an offence is defined as a party to an offence under section 21 of the Criminal Code.

Aiding and Abetting: Aiding means helping a perpetrator commit a crime. To aid the perpetrator, one does not have to be present when the offence is committed. Abet means to encourage without actually providing physical assistance. Two things must be proved before an accused can be convicted of being a party by aiding or abetting. The first is that the accused had knowledge that the other intended to commit anoffence. The second is that the accused aided or abetted the other. Mere presence at the scene is not conclusive evidence of aiding or abetting. Under section 21(2), a person who plans an offence is just as guilty as a person who actually commits the offence. However, a person is not guilty if his/her action is not intended to assist in the commission of an offence.

Counselling: The separate offence of counselling, (s. 22), is similar to abetting but is much broader in scope. Counselling includes the acts of advising, recommending, persuading or recruiting another person to commit an offence (procuring, soliciting or inciting"). A person who counsels does not have to be present at the scene of the crime.

Accessories After the Fact: The Criminal Code provides a penalty for a person who is an accessory after the fact as outlined in section 23. Knowingly assisting a person who has committed a crime to escape capture includes providing food, clothing, or shelter to the offender. One exception to his law is the favoured relationship between a legally married couple. A man or woman cannot be held responsible for assisting in the escape of a spouse and someone escaping with a spouse. An accessory after the fact is one who receives, comforts or assists any one who has been a party to an offence in order to enable him/her to escape, knowing him/her to be a party thereto. There are three constituent elements of the offence of being an accessory after the fact: knowledge that a crime has been committed; an intent to assist the criminal to escape; and an act or omission intended to aid a criminal.

Next, please read through "Our Criminal Court System" from pages 134-136 and complete questions 1-5 on page 138

The Criminal Court System in Canada

Provincial Courts — Criminal Division (example: the British Columbia Provincial Court)

This is the trial court that most students will be familiar with as it involves the finding of facts, witness testimony, and the introduction of evidence. If a mistake is made at this stage, then an appeal can be made to a higher court. This court:

• arraigns the accused (reads the charge and enters the plea) in all criminal cases
• holds preliminary hearings for most severe indictable offences, where the accused elects to have the case tried in a higher court
• hears and tries criminal summary conviction cases and the least serious indictable offences such as theft under $5000

The judges in this court are appointed by the provincial governments.

Provincial Superior Court — Appeals and Trials (example: the British Columbia Supreme Court)

This court is the court of first appeal with respect to criminal cases arising in the provincial court. This court:

• tries the more severe crimes such as manslaughter and sexual assault, and the most severe indictable offences such as murder and armed robbery
• hears criminal appeals in summary conviction cases
• sets provincial precedent; decisions must be followed by provincial court judges in that province
• can be composed of a judge alone or a judge and jury

The judges in this court are appointed by the federal government.

Provincial Court of Appeal (example: the British Columbia Court of Appeal)

This is the highest court and the final court of appeal in the province. Many appeals stop here as the Supreme Court of Canada accepts only appeals that are deemed to be of great importance. Appeals are heard by three or more judges, depending on the case. Their decisions may be either unanimous or majority judgments. Split two-to-one judgments are not uncommon. When the court releases its decision, it also provides explanations for the majority vote, and dissenting judges provide their reasons for disagreeing. This court:

• hears appeals from the trial division of provincial superior courts
• sets provincial precedent; decisions must be followed by all judges in that province
• has three to five judges to hear all appeals

The judges in this court are appointed by the federal government.

Federal Courts

This is Canada’s national court system that hears legal disputes with the federal government. In 2003, the former Federal Court of Canada was separated into two distinct courts: the Federal Court, and the Federal Court of Appeal. The Federal Court has jurisdiction over cases involving federal government boards, tribunals and commissions, and issues within federal jurisdiction. These include immigration and citizenship matters, and intellectual property (such as copyright and trademark issues), as well as cases involving the federal government. The Federal Court of Appeal hears appeals of decisions by the Federal Court. Decisions of this court may be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada. Both the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal have regional offices in all major cities in Canada, although the judges and the main court facilities are located in Ottawa.

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) is the final court of appeal in our country. Even though the SCC is the highest court in the land, not all parties — individuals, organizations, or even governments — have the right to appeal to it. Before it agrees to hear an appeal, the court determines if the issue is of great importance or if a question of law must be decided or interpreted. However, there is an automatic right of appeal when there is a split decision from a provincial court of appeal. Like the provincial courts of appeal, the SCC may be either unanimous or split. The Supreme Court of Canada:

• has unlimited jurisdiction in criminal matters
• hears appeals from provincial appeal courts and the Federal Court of Appeal
• hears cases of national importance (for example, interprets the Charter of Rights and Freedoms or clarifies a criminal law matter)
• generally grants leave (permission) before the appeal will be heard
• sets a national precedent in its judgments; these decisions must be followed by all judges in all courts of Canada

The nine judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the federal government and can serve until age 75.


D Block Criminology 12 - Today we're back in the library for you to continue your blog work. This new entry should be your third entry and I'd like you to find out as much information as you can about two notorious Canadian murderers... Clifford Robert Olson Jr. (Serial) and Marc Lépine (Mass). For this assignment I'd like you to tell me what they did and why they did it....use Levin & Fox's typology of serial and mass murder to explain motives. Do not use Wikipedia as your source for this assignment use the links on the names above. Aside from answering what they did and why they did it, also try to answer what can we learn from their horrific actions and is it ever possible to stop people like this in Canada? Why or Why not?

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