Monday, December 1, 2014

Tuesday, December 2. 2014

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

C & A Blocks Social Studies 10 - Today, I'll have you read through “The Métis Move North and West” on pages 169-173 of the Horizons text and complete questions 1-3 on page 173 of the text. NOTE: For question 3, you don’t need to work in partners I just want you to answer “What contributed the most to the Métis’ loss of land and political power in Manitoba and the North-West Territories”?
The Métis emerged as a distinct people or nation in the historic Northwest during the course of the 18th and 19th centuries. This area is known as the “historic Métis Nation Homeland,” which includes the 3 Prairie Provinces and extends into Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northern United States. Distinct Métis communities developed along the routes of the fur trade and across the Northwest within the Métis Nation Homeland. The Métis National Council consequently adopted the following definition of “Métis” in 2002: “Métis” means a person who self-identifies as Métis, is distinct from other Aboriginal peoples, is of historic Métis Nation Ancestry and who is accepted by the Métis Nation.” In 2003, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that Métis are a rights-bearing Aboriginal people and according to the 2006 Census, almost 400,000 people reported they were Métis with almost 90% located in the western provinces and Ontario.

D Block Law 9/10 - Today we'll finish up work on our "Typical Victim" of Assault. Don't forget to look through the crime statistics in the course booklet on page 4 that I'll hand out today for help. Who will most likely be assaulted and why? Now you are taking information and enhancing stereotypes for the people you are drawing. The stereotypes you're basing your drawings on are an example of profiling. Later this week we'll take a deeper look at criminal profiling starting with a look at what psychopathy really is along with the differences between serial and mass murder. The poster is due on Friday and next Monday you'll have a quiz then begin your first major assignment in the course.

The crime data indicate that rates have declined significantly in the past few years and are now far less than they were a decade ago. Suspected causes for the crime rate drop include an increasing prison population, more police on the street, the end of the crack epidemic and the age structure of society. The data sources show relatively stable patterns in the crime rate. Ecological patterns show that crime varies by season and by urban versus rural environment, however there is evidence of gender patterns in the crime rate: Men commit more crime than women. Age is one of the largest influences on crime; young people commit more crime than the elderly (and there are fewer young people in society). Crime data show that people commit less crime as they age, but the significance and cause of this pattern are still not completely understood.

B Block Law 12 - Today we'll talk about bail and pre-trial release. First I'll need you to define Bail, Recognizance and Undertaking and then working on questions 2, 4 and 5 from page 178 and then together as a class we'll talk about question 7 from page 179: The plea negotiation has become the primary means of dispensing justice in Canada. It is effective, both for accused criminals looking to minimize their punishment and for prosecutors coping with the torrent of cases sloshing through the courts. Is it morally correct to trade the legal rights guaranteed by the Charter for convenience and cost savings? This question deals with Plea Bargains in Criminal Law. From the Department of Justice here in Canada: Broadly speaking, the promises that may be made by Crown counsel fall into three, overlapping categories: (1) promises relating to the nature of the charges to be laid (charge bargaining); (2) promises relating to the ultimate sentence that may be meted out by the court (sentence bargaining); and (3) promises relating to the facts that the Crown may bring to the attention of the trial judge (fact bargaining).


  1. Charge Bargaining
    1. Reduction of the charge to a lesser included offence;
    2. Withdrawal or stay of other charges or the promise not to proceed with other possible charges; or
    3. Promise not to charge friends or family of the defendant; or
    4. Promise to withdraw a charge in return for the defendant's undertaking to enter into a peace bond.
  2. Sentence Bargaining
    1. Promise to proceed summarily rather than by way of indictment;
    2. Promise to make a specific sentence recommendation;
    3. Promise not to oppose defence counsel's sentence recommendation;
    4. Promise to submit a joint sentencing submission;
    5. Promise not to appeal against sentence imposed at trial;
    6. Promise not to apply for a more severe penalty (for example, by not giving notice to seek a higher range of sentence based on the accused's previous conviction – s. 727 of the Criminal Code);
    7. Promise not to apply to the trial court for a finding that the accused is a dangerous offender (s. 753 of the Criminal Code) or a long–term offender (s. 753.1 of the Criminal Code);
    8. Promise to make a representation as to the place of imprisonment, type of treatment, etc.; or
    9. Promise to arrange the sentence hearing before a particular judge.
  3. Fact bargaining
    1. promise not to "volunteer" information detrimental to the accused during the sentencing hearing;
    2. promise not to mention a circumstance of the offence that may be interpreted by the judge as an aggravating factor (see, for example, the aggravating factors listed in s. 718.2(a) of the Criminal Code).

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