D & A Block Legal Studies - Today you'll need to start with working on the Review Your Understanding questions 1-5 on page 130 in the law textbook. After, we'll examine our Criminal Court System...
The Courts of British Columbia
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.
EVERYONE should read this Globe & Mail article on former Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin who retired from the Supreme Court of Canada last December. From the article...
Ultimately, her achievements were remarkable. She would go on to help shape Canadians' fundamental rights as much as any judge in the country's history, from the legalization of assisted dying, to a huge expansion of Indigenous rights, to a rebalancing of how police and the legal system treat people accused of crimes.
Explain the types of serial and mass murderer along with the reasons why they commit these crime
After, we'll try to make sense of mass and serial murder. As you know, most murder transactions are done by someone you know (acquaintances not strangers) and the bulk of murder cases are cleared (a suspect identified and a charge laid by Crown Counsel). If that is the case for the majority of homicides then what of multiple murders?
In Canada we have had both mass murderers (Marc Andre Lepine, killing 14 women and injuring 14 others at l'École Polytechnique in Montreal, 1989, and Alexandre Bissonnette, killing 6 and injuring 18 others at a mosque in Quebec City, 2017) and serial killers (Robert William Pickton, convicted of 6 counts of second-degree murder here in BC, Clifford Olson pleading guilty to 11 counts of first-degree murder here in BC and most recently Elizabeth Wettlaufer convicted of 8 counts of first-degree murder, 4 counts of attempted murder and 2 counts of aggravated assault) and Bruce McArthur who plead guilty to each of the eight first-degree murder charges laid against him. Are they Psychopaths?
Psychopathology focuses on Anti-Social Personality Disorders (DSM-V) along with sociopathy and psychopathy (hot-headed vs. cold-hearted) Anti-Social Personality Disorder is diagnosed as:
A. There is a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15 years, as indicated by three (or more) of the following:
1. failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest
2. deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure
3. impulsivity or failure to plan ahead
4. irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults
5. reckless disregard for safety of self or others
6. consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations
7. lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another.
B. The individual is at least age 18 years.
C. There is evidence of conduct disorder with onset before age 15 years.
D. The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during the course of schizophrenia or a manic episode.
While both psychopathy and sociopathy are extreme forms of antisocial personality disorders, sociopathy is caused by social or environmental factors whereas psychopathic traits are more innate. From the Atlantic magazine...
In his landmark book on psychopathy, The Mask of Sanity, researcher Hervey Cleckley theorized that some people with the core attributes of psychopathy -- egocentricity, lack of remorse, superficial charm -- could be found in nearly every walk of life and at every level, including politics. Robert Hare, perhaps the leading expert on the disorder and the person who developed the most commonly used test for diagnosing psychopathy, has noted that psychopaths generally have a heightened need for power and prestige -- exactly the type of urges that make politics an attractive calling. In any event, the idea that a psychopath could reach the heights of power is nothing new.So are all mass murderers and serial killers psychopaths? We'll take some more time to understand what a "psychopath" is...specifically a Charismatic Psychopath: charming, attractive liars; gifted at some talent, using it to their advantage in manipulating others; verbally facile fast-talkers who easily persuade others out of everything they own, even their lives
B Block Human Geography - Today we'll look at the Key Question: Why Do Migrants Face Obstacles? we'll try to understand temporary-work migrants (include guest workers in Europe and the Middle East and, historically, time-contract workers in Asia) along with illegal and unauthorized immigrants. Our goal is to understand why people who immigrate to a country face challenges when they arrive. Specifically I'm interested in the attitudes of people in host countries to immigrants. We'll try to look at the USA and Mexico and compare it to Europe. I'd also like to look at Canada and see whether it is all sunshine and rainbows or whether there's an underbelly of fear here too. You'll need to answer the following:
- As you read pages 100-103, “Attitudes toward Immigrants learning Outcome 3.4.3 Describe characteristics of immigrants to the United States”, complete the Venn diagram to compare and contrast attitudes in the U.S. and Europe toward immigrants.
- Americans purchase products made in foreign countries using cheap labor. Is this any different than allowing low-cost labor to immigrate to the United States? How? Why are employers who knowingly hire undocumented immigrants under less scrutiny than the immigrants themselves?
- Why are new migrants to an area frequently the butt of racist or ethnic jokes? Explain in the context of the history of European emigration to the United States. Which groups were more frequently made fun of?
And Europe...
And the USA...
Who supports these anti-Globalization, anti-immigration "Nativist" xenophobic and racist groups?
So there are obstacles to migration, but is there a benefit to migration? Let's see:
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