The Supreme Court of Canada has recently ruled twice, most notably in the 2016 Jordan decision, that it is a violation of Canadians’ rights when criminal cases are not completed in the courts in a reasonable period of time. These rulings...
Read MoreBy Melissa Hamilton Troubles arise when a society has too many laws, a sort of legal inflation or legal creep. When the situation regards too many criminal laws, the more specific term is overcriminalization. It is worse than other forms...
Read MoreJails and prisons are out of the public eye; what goes on there tends to get very little scrutiny unless something very dramatic occurs. However there is much evidence (for example the famous Stanford Prison Experiments) that in places where...
Read MoreA criminal conviction is much more than the sentence It’s commonly believed that the consequence of being convicted of a crime lies in the sentence imposed by a judge. “Do the crime, do your time”, one often hears. But as...
Read MoreMajor changes in Ontario corrections recommended On January 1, 2017, following a series of media stories involving prisoners held in segregation or solitary confinement for long periods, the Ontario government commissioned Howard Sapers, former federal Correctional Investigator, to do a...
Read MoreReflecting on Bryan Stevenson: How a Criminal Lawyer Became the Leading Civil Rights Voice of Our Time by Lisa Kerr The field of criminal justice is often in need of moral leadership. While Bryan Stevenson is focused on the U.S....
Read MoreThere is “no neutral ground”: Carceral expansion and organizations that serve the criminalized in Canada Justin Piché There was considerable expansion of jail, prison and penitentiary capacity during the near-decade that Stephen Harper was the Prime Minister of Canada, both...
Read MoreVictims and Forgiveness Crime often causes suffering, which is one of the factors leading to demands for harsh punishments. Yet some of the most remarkable crime stories come from victims who have been able to take a different approach, leading...
Read MoreInternational studies. From time to time we will post material about criminal justice in other countries. Canadians hear most about the United States, and it is likely that American trends and practices have had a strong effect on what happens...
Read MorePurposes, what to expect, how to participate, copyright and reproduction Why this blog? Crime and criminal justice are topics of great interest to people. They are frequently reported in the news, a common subject of public conversation, and therefore of...
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