The legal team for Omar Khadr announced yesterday that they intend to appeal his plea bargain before the military commission at Guantanamo Bay. Khadr is currently serving out his eight-year sentence at Millhaven Institution near Kingston, Ontario. Khadr is eligible for parole this summer.

The appeal would be to an American domestic court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and if successful would result in Khadr being released immediately. The international transfer agreement under which Khadr was moved to Canada would no longer require his detention.

Khadr's guilty plea on October 25, 2010 included a confession to killing American Sgt. . . . [more]

Yesterday morning, I was in Dallas, giving a presentation to members of the National Association of Bar Executives (NABE), which brings together the professional staff leaders of both voluntary and mandatory bar associations across the U.S. (and occasionally Canada, although there were no Canadians at this meeting).

I spoke to the NABE conference about the future of bar associations and suggested a number of new themes or pillars upon which 21st-century bar associations could be built. One of these was "aspiration" — my belief that most lawyers aspire to the law as a higher calling; they deeply appreciate and cherish . . . [more]

It has been a number of months since we have blogged about Omar Khadr. The Canadian government promised his return a number of months ago, but they are now delaying.

Senator Roméo Dallaire is running a petition online via the Change.org website:

The case of Omar Khadr���a Canadian citizen and former child soldier—is a stain upon our society and shows a blatant disregard for Canada’s obligations under international law.

…

After years of dragging its feet, Canada finally agreed to his return in 2010, so long as he served one additional year in Guantánamo. No one forced the government’s

. . . [more]

"Her Majesty's Counsel, learned in the law, for the Province of Alberta"

The designation of Queen's Counsel was bestowed recently on some members of the Alberta Bar. Though the tradition of recognizing outstanding expertise, work and contributions in a lawyer’s public life has ceased in some Canadian jurisdictions, being appointed a QC is worthy of congratulations.

The legislative authority for Queen's Counsel appointments exists in Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan

Quebec stopped making Queen's Counsel appointments in 1976, and Ontario stopped the practice in . . . [more]

I usually have an opinion on almost everything. Ten years ago I was working in an American military veteran hospital in Detroit, MI, and instantly saw a lot of things change.

But I'm keeping it to myself today to remember all of the lives, civilian and military, from September 11, 2011 and the military and social actions that followed it, such as:

• the 2,996 lives on September 11, 2011, including 24 Canadians
• an estimated 48, 644 lives in Afghanistan
• an estimated 1, 690, 903 lives in Iraq
• an estimated 3,000 people extraordinarily renditioned, including the Canadian Maher Arar
• an unknown

. . . [more]

This past week the Ontario Superior Court released the decision in Baglow v. Smith, where the plaintiff's claim over an allegedly defamatory blog post was dismissed on summary judgment. The decision is also of interest for Judge Peter Annis' discussion on how to "remove the sting" of internet postings, and the application of the fair comment defence. Matthew Nied has also posted a more concise summary of the case on his site.

Background

The plaintiff, John Baglow, is relatively renowned in Canadian political circles and operated under the moniker of "Dr. Dawg" on Dawg's Blog. He describes . . . [more]

We haven't talked much about the killing of Osama bin Ladin here on Slaw, and there is considerable debate in international law over it. Contrary to what Jonathan Kay has said in the National Post, international law is still relevant, and even more so when the tables are switched.

Although it was completely unplanned, the Ontario Court of Appeal released a timely decision on Friday in United States of America v. Khadr dealing not with the more infamous Omar Khadr, but his brother, Abdullah Khadr, on extradition proceedings seeking to have him turned over to the United States.

In the . . . [more]

I'm following Omar Khadr's sentencing hearing via Carol Rosenberg's tweets. She's a Miami journalist who has covered Guantanamo longer than any other reporter. The "jury" of U.S. military officers is engaged in the business determining the appropriate sentence for Mr. Khadr, who has pleaded guilty to five serious offences in this… curious process.

As of half an hour ago, a forensic psychiatrist, Michael Weiner is on the stand testifying as to whether Khadr is dangerous as "a violent jihadist." The witness claims to have worked for 500-600 hours on the Khadr case, hired by the U.S. Department of Defence. . . . [more]

Today's Dispatches on CBC Radio includes a four-minute report by Carol Rosenberg on the way in which reporters are treated at "Camp Justice" Guantánamo. Rosenberg is a reporter for the Miami Herald and has more experience covering trials there than anyone.

Now that the trial of Omar Khadr is back in the news — and lest you harbour any illusions that what is going on bears even a scant resemblance to justice — you might like to listen to the portion of the program featuring her. (The full broadcast of Dispatches is available here.)

You might . . . [more]

Following the landmark ruling on September 28, 2010, by Ontario’s Superior Court Justice Susan Himel, which struck down various sections of the Criminal Code of Canada dealing with prostitution because of safety and security concerns to sex trade workers, and effectively decriminalized prostitution in Ontario, another case in British Columbia would like to follow suit.
. . . [more]

The Federal Court of Canada released the decision today in the George Galloway hearing, The Toronto Coalition to Stop the War et al. v. The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness et al. I previously attended the hearing in Toronto and posted on it here, which was later picked up and expanded upon by The Court.

Mosley J. dismissed the request for judicial review, not because the case was without grounds, but because Galloway never actually tested the measures enacted against him,

[148] Had Galloway actually been found inadmissible by a visa officer relying on the

. . . [more]

[An Unhappy Fisherman’s Exhibit. Picture from a Cour du Québec’s judgment illustrating that the roof bought by the plaintiff was too low for comfortable fishing. Source : 2003 CanLII 42894 (QC C.Q.) (juge Raoul P. Barbe) at para. 8.]

Earlier this year, SCC’s judges cited a CTV news video clip in Canada (Prime Minister) v. Khadr, 2010 SCC 3, (at para. 7.). In that case, the government policy — its refusal to request M. Khadr���s repatriation — was established through a reference to a press conference given by the Prime Minister and available in CTV’s archives (see at 2 . . . [more]