Canada

Mentally ill female prisoners mistreated: report, Toronto Star

B.C. approves new rules against scrap metal theft, The Vancouver Sun

Environmental laws updated to accelerate projects: MP, Windsor Star

United States

Lawyer charged in mortgage-fraud scheme, Reuters

Twitter refuses to hand over protester's tweets, Reuters

International

Interpol seeks arrest of Iraq vice president, Reuters

Mongolia dilutes draft law on foreign investment, Reuters

The trial of a retired Quebec City judge charged with his wife’s murder began Monday.

Retired Qubec City judge Jacques Delisle is the first judge in Canadian history to stand trial for first-degree murder Photo: Le Soleil

Jacques Delisle, 77, is the first judge in Canadian history to stand trial for first-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty at a hearing in March 2011.

Police officers found Marie-Nicole Rainville, Delisle’s wife of almost 50 years, dead of a gunshot wound to the head on Nov. 12, 2009. It was initially reported that the 71-year-old had committed suicide after suffering a stroke in 2007 that paralyzed one side of her body and confined her to a wheelchair.

Seven months later, Delisle was arrested and charged with premeditated murder.

A court document filed by Delisle’s lawyer stated that Rainville’s life had become “unbearable” and she had “expressed a desire to end her life.”

They had two children and three grandchildren and were apparently set to go on a cruise to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in the fall of 2010.

“I don’t think he would do anything which she would not want or to harm her,” one judge, who knew the couple well, told Canadian Lawyer at the time of his arrest.

Delisle was appointed to the Quebec Superior Court in 1983 and then sat on the Quebec Court of Appeal for 15 years. He stepped down from the bench six months before Rainville’s death.

The former judge, who was a hunter, was also charged with illegal possession of a firearm, which will be addressed in a separate trial.

Delisle’s arrest shocked Quebec’s legal community. Due to the sensitivity of the case, the province took extra precautions by presenting its evidence in an in camera hearing with a judge before the arrest warrant.

By the end of Monday’s proceedings, 12 jurors had been selected. In it’s opening arguments this morning, the Crown said ballistics tests proved there was no way Rainville could have shot herself.

The trial is expected to last four weeks.

Canada

Accused N.S. navy spy to appear in court, CBC News

Judge approves Ont. blind students' abuse lawsuit, Toronto Star

Ont. appeal court allows investigation of retired officer, Toronto Star

United States

Court reverses ruling on veterans' health care, Reuters

Woman who sold suicide kits sentenced for tax offence, Reuters

International

Chinese court to hear dissident artist's lawsuit, Reuters

Zimbabwe rights cases to be heard in South African courts, Reuters

The Supreme Court of Canada will hear the following appeals this week — all from Nova Scotia:

May 7 — Nova Scotia — Chehil v. R.

Charter of Rights and Freedoms: RCMP officers found a large stash of cocaine on Mandeep Singh Chehil when he was searched at the Halifax airport. He was charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking but the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia ruled the search violated his Charter rights and Chehil was acquitted. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and ordered a new trial.

May 8 — Nova Scotia — Annapolis County District School Board v. Marshall

Procedural law: Johnathan Marshall, 4, was playing outside his home located along a highway when he was hit by a school bus and suffered serious injuries. When he turned 19, he filed a lawsuit against the bus driver and the Annapolis County District School Board. The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia dismissed the case after the jury found no negligence on the bus driver’s part. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and ordered a new trial.

May 10 — Nova Scotia — A.B. v. Bragg Communications Inc.

Procedural law: A girl applied for a court order to require Bragg Communications Inc. to disclose the identity of the person who used a particular IP address to create a fake Facebook profile of her. She also requested to be identified by initials and ban the public from knowing the words in the fake Facebook profile. The judge granted the disclosure order but not the ban on the fake profile. The Court of Appeal upheld that decision. There is a publication ban and sealing order in the case.

At 9:45 a.m. on May 11, the SCC will also release its ruling in R. v. R.P. (Que.).

Canada

Federal judge orders deportation of Somalia refugee, National Post

Court settles Vancouver businessman's $20M estate, The Vancouver Sun

B.C. skipper faces sentencing in U.S. for drug conviction, Victoria Times-Colonist

United States

Madoff's family sued for $255M, Reuters

Prosecutors anticipate long haul in 9-11 case, Reuters

International

Hezbollah suspect to be freed by Iraq court, Reuters

Israel court rejects Palestinian hunger strikers' appeal, Reuters

Canada

Terri-Lynne McClintic facing assault charges, The Province

Court asks Calgary law firm to pay $3M for investigation, The Vancouver Sun

Conrad Black can't appeal sealing order in Hollinger case: SCC, Financial Post

United States

Google, authors duke it out in court, Reuters

Wife who tried to poison mistress loses appeal, Reuters

International

80-year sentence sought for Charles Taylor, Reuters

Palestinian hunger strikers file appeal in Israel court, Reuters

The Université de Montréal is joining the JD world by changing the name of its common law degree.

Since the common law program’s inception in 2001, it has been called the diplôme d'etudes supérieures spécialisées, which UdeM law dean Gilles Trudeau says has no resonance outside of Quebec.

To go ahead with the name change, UdeM needed certification from the Federation of Law Societies of Canada and approval from all of the law societies. The Law Society of Upper Canada passed a motion at Convocation on April 26 in agreement with the FLSC’s recommendations.

Trudeau says it’s an important modification. “[JD] is much more recognized on the market than holding a DESS,” he says. “So when in your CV you put JD from the Université de Montréal, it means more to the eventual employer than the former DESS that meant nothing outside of Quebec.”

Students may choose to take the one-year JD program after they complete their three-year LLB.

Up until this point, graduates of the DESS program were required to apply to the FLSC’s National Committee on Accreditation to receive recognition of their degrees before applying to provincial bars outside of Quebec. This process will not be necessary for graduates of the JD program as their degrees will automatically be recognized; making it easier to practise throughout Canada.

Trudeau says approximately one-third of UdeM’s law students opt for the common law degree. “More and more students see the need of being able to practise nationally because major law firms in Canada used to be more local and they have merged into very large corporations,” he says, giving the example of Norton Rose Canada LLP.

“With the globalization of the practice of law, [having a JD is] a major benefit in Canada and in international organizations as well,” he adds.

“Our students see that if they want to be able to have a practice which is internationally or nationally based, they need to be trained in common law and to be able to represent their clients everywhere in Canada,” Trudeau says.

Not all Quebec law schools offer a common law degree since civil law is practised in that province. Although the Université de Sherbrooke offers a similar one-year JD common law degree, it has not yet been certified by the FLSC.

Canada

Court orders Que. college to resume classes, Ottawa Citizen

Pilot charged with obstructing justice in hang glider's death, London Free Press

Disabled veterans win challenge to federal benefits clawbacks, The Globe and Mail

United States

Charges to be laid in Fla. hazing death, Reuters

U.S. gov't urges BP oil spill trial to proceed, Reuters

International

EU court restricts copyright protection for software, Reuters

German court removes Xbox, Windows 7 from market, Reuters

Canada

Ont. court upholds ruling sparing G20 protester, The Globe and Mail

Ottawa wins approval for Lansdowne redevelopment, Ottawa Citizen

Toronto officers acquitted on several charges in conspiracy case, National Post

United States

Oakland shooting suspect pleads not guilty, Reuters

Judge approves Kodak's extra payments to workers, Reuters

International

Sport court overturns Britain's lifetime Olympic ban, Reuters

Chile court suspends permit for Goldcorp. $3.9B project, Reuters

Canada

Ex-Mountie charged with sexual assault, CBC News

Ont. court to hear appeal on lack of aboriginal jurors, CBC News

New Man. law allows sale of pimps' property to pay victims, Ottawa Citizen

United States

Conrad Black to be freed by end of week, The Globe and Mail

Somali man convicted in U.S. on piracy charges, Reuters

International

Bahrain court orders retrial for hunger striker, Reuters

First Bosnian woman convicted in Sarajevo conflict, Reuters