Canada

Kingston, Laval prisons to close, CTV News

Judge to rule in RCMP, Que. corruption inquiry, CBC News

Proposed Man. law would help with missing persons cases, Winnipeg Free Press

United States

Goldman Sachs faces new insider trading investigation, Reuters

Proposed 'personhood' bill rejected by Okla. legislature, Reuters

International

Chinese court overturns woman's death penalty, Reuters

Australia's richest woman loses bid for private hearing, Reuters

The Supreme Court of Canada set new guidelines for determining the law of jurisdiction in a trio of decisions yesterday.

Brian Radnoff notes the SCC has made it clear that courts should not consider non-objective factors.

In dismissing the appeals in Éditions Écosociété Inc. v. Banro Corp, Club Resorts Ltd. v. Van Breda, and Breeden v. Black, the top court established certain factors to consider when determining whether a Canadian can sue a foreign defendant in a Canadian court.

In Van Breda, Justice Louis LeBel wrote that in a case involving a tort, the court should consider these factors:
“(a) the defendant is domiciled or resident in the province;
(b) the defendant carries on business in the province;
(c) the tort was committed in the province; and
(d) a contract connected with the dispute was made in the province.”

Lebel also recognized that in the future other factors might pop up that should be added to his list and put forth some consideration to guide judges down the road:
"(a) the similarity of this new connecting factor with the recognized presumptive connecting factors;
(b) the treatment of the connecting factor in the case law;
(c) the treatment of the connecting factor in statute; and
(d) the treatment of the connecting factor in the private international law of other legal systems with a shared commitment to order, fairness and comity."


Brian Radnoff, a partner at Lerners LLP, says prior to this ruling, the courts recognized non-objective factors like fairness and justice but now the Supreme Court has made it clear that courts should not consider non-objective factors in determining jurisdiction.

Overall, Radnoff says he’s satisfied with the decisions. “The test is logical and shouldn’t be difficult to apply, and it should assist in giving parties to litigation more certainty and reducing disputes and costs regarding jurisdictional issues,” he says.

Radnoff notes that it’s imperative to know when Canadian courts will take jurisdiction over certain claims. “We have an increasingly global marketplace. And in this country itself, commerce and any business activity increasingly occurs beyond the borders of any particular province,” he says.

“The issue of when Canadians can sue defendants in other provinces, in the U.S., and other countries is going to be of increasing importance because of the way our economy works . . . there are going to be disputes arising all the time,” he adds.

Van Breda dealt with personal injuries in a foreign country while Éditions Écosociété and Black related to Internet defamation.

“[Internet defamation] is an issue that’s going to be increasingly important,” says Radnoff. “In terms of those decisions, I would say they’re fairly plaintiff-friendly. So long as information published over the Internet is accessed and downloaded in the province where the action is commenced, that should be sufficient to give that court jurisdiction.”

One of the decisions he’s referring to is Black, in which the court ruled that Conrad Black can pursue his libel lawsuits against the authors of a report that he claims defamed him in Ontario, as his reputation in Ontario would be most affected. Read more about the Black ruling here.

Canada

Top court refuses to hear Fibrek appeal, Financial Post

Federal Court sides with First Nations children, CBC News

Online prostitution laws needed: Sudbury police chief, CBC News

United States

Ariz. can demand voter ID, court rules, Reuters

Victim protection law only applies to people: Supreme Court, Reuters

International

Australian BHP employees lose labour dispute, Reuters

Ex-Venezuelan judge accuses judiciary of manipulation, Reuters

On April 17, lawyers and legal professionals took part in a flash mob in Ottawa to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Canadian Bar Association organized the event as part of its Law Day activities.

Canada

B.C. man faces jail time for anti-tax crusade, CBC News

Mill workers lose longstanding court fight in B.C., Canada.com

Ont. judge grants motion against dating website scammer, The Vancouver Sun

United States

Top court hears Glaxo overtime case, Reuters

New Miss. law threatens only abortion clinic, Reuters

International

Saudi rights activist jailed for 4 years, Reuters

Dutch court approves bomb suspect's extradition to U.S., Reuters

Canada

Lawyers for accused to testify in Nortel trial, The Globe and Mail

Ont. woman charged with sister-in-law's murder, CBC News

Feds ask Iran to release Canadian on death row, Toronto Star

United States

Top court to hear copyright law case, Reuters

Supreme Court upholds ex-Enron chief's conviction, Reuters

International

Norway gunman pleads not guilty, Reuters

4 Turkish generals awaiting trial jailed over 1997 coup, Reuters

The Supreme Court of Canada will hear the following appeals this week:

April 16 — Quebec — R. v. Carmelo Venneri

Criminal law: Carmelo Venneri and two others were convicted of trafficking drugs for a criminal organization. The majority of the Court of Appeal allowed Venneri’s appeal in part and found him not guilty on several of the charges.

April 17 — Federal Court — Cogeco Cable Inc. v. Bell Media Inc. (formerly CTV Globemedia Inc.), V Interactions Inc., Newfoundland Broadcasting Co. Ltd.

Administrative law: The Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission is seeking to impose a “value for signal” regime to allow a private local TV station to negotiate with cable TV service providers for the right to retransmit its signals. The CRTC argued the existing model doesn’t reflect recent changes to the broadcasting business environment so it asked the Federal Court of Appeal if it has the jurisdiction to impose this regime under the Broadcasting Act. The judges were unable to reach a consensus.

April 18 — Federal Court — Teva Canada Ltd. v. Pfizer Canada Inc.

Property law: This case relates to a patent dispute. Pfizer received a patent for compounds used in the manufacturing of Viagra. Teva applied for a notice of compliance to produce a generic version of Viagra, claiming the patent was invalid. The Federal Court judge ruled against Teva. The Federal Court of Appeal then dismissed the appeal. There is a sealing order in the case.

April 19 — Quebec — R. v. Suganthini Mayuran

Criminal law: Suganthini Mayuran was convicted of the second-degree murder of her sister-in-law. The majority of the Court of Appeal allowed her appeal and ordered a new trial because the trial judge failed to bring the defence of provocation to the jury’s attention.

At 9:45 a.m. on April 18, the SCC will also release its rulings in the following appeals, which all involve the law of jurisdiction:

1. Club Resorts Ltd. v. Anna Charron (Ont.) (Civil)

2. Club Resorts Ltd. v. Morgan Van Breda (Ont.) (Civil)

3. Richard C. Breeden v. Conrad Black (Ont.) (Civil)

4. Les éditions Écosociété Inc. v. Banro Corp. (Ont.) (Civil)

Canada

4 Halton residents charged with $16M fraud, Toronto Star

SCC refuses to hear man's appeal in wife's murder, Calgary Herald

Lawyers seek access to info at inquiry into soldier's suicide, Ottawa Citizen

United States

Banker accused in hate crime against cab driver, Reuters

Calif. court paves way for Brinker employees' class action, Reuters

International

Indian court orders land clean-up in iron ore case, Reuters

Italian court releases Ukrainian opposition politician, Reuters

Canada

Alcohol to be served in B.C. movie theatres, The Vancouver Sun

N.W.T. man found not guilty of drug trafficking, CBC News

Ex-N.S. Tory cabinet minister pleads guilty in spending scandal, The Chronicle-Herald

United States

Ohio man charged after puppies found in suitcase, Reuters

Trayvon Martin's shooter to appear in court, Reuters

International

Poland to update draft bill on renewables, Reuters

ICC prosecutor asks judges to reject Libya's appeal, Reuters

The Province of Manitoba is moving forward in its efforts to improve social services with a new mental-health court opening next month.

Manitoba Attorney General Andrew Swan supports ‘problem-solving’ courts like the new mental-health court.

The new court is similar to the Winnipeg Drug Treatment Court, which specifically deals with drug-addicted offenders. In the new court, a health team will provide support to offenders with mental-health issues and develop a treatment plan, which can include counselling, employment and educational assistance, and the involvement of family members. Taking a hands-on approach, the judge will also meet with the team weekly to discuss offenders’ progress.

The mental-health court aims to provide better support to offenders suffering from mental illness. Peter Tonge tells Legal Feeds that appropriate care is desperately needed. As a criminal lawyer with Legal Aid Manitoba, the majority of Tonge’s caseload involves clients with mental-health issues.

“[A] lot of people that find themselves in the criminal justice system suffer from severe mental illness and they end up in jail because there isn’t a more appropriate place for them to be immediately,” he says. “So we need the mental-health court, which takes people that have been charged with criminal offences and then finds appropriate placement and treatment for them rather than jail as punishment.”

The specialized court will focus on rehabilitation.

“The court anticipates that, as each accused’s mental health improves, their appearances may become less frequent,” said provincial court Chief Judge Ken Champagne in a release. “Upon the treatment plan being completed, the accused will make a final appearance before the mental-health court judge either to be sentenced to a community-based disposition or for the Crown to stay the charges. The entire process is expected to take 18 to 24 months from referral to disposition.”

Judges, lawyers, and staff members working with the mental-health court will also receive specialized training.

Tonge suspects a large percentage of his caseload will be referred to the mental-health court.

“It’s a win-win situation,” he says. “[Offenders] get the care that they need and society gets the security that it’s looking for.”

Justice Minister Andrew Swan echoed that statement. “Problem-solving courts like this help make our communities safer by recognizing and addressing the core reasons people come into conflict with the law in the first place,” he said.

The court will begin sitting on May 10.