Late last year, the RCMP changed its policy for access to criminal records information via the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC). Reputable companies, up until that point, had been able to obtain police records clearances through local police departments. These clearances were conditional upon the background checking company obtaining signed consent from the individual and making those consent forms available for spot audits. Provided the proper consent was obtained, background checking companies had been able to provide same-day results if the name, address and date of birth provided did not result in any “hits” in CPIC. In most cases, where . . . [more]

Ah, people! An endless source of interest, our fellow human beings are particularly fascinating to look at. The gaze is powerful, though, and staring is usually not socially permitted. This means that much of what we actually see of others outside our immediate circles is afforded by glimpses, hardly the best basis for soaking up the quiddities of “the other” and, perhaps, seeing oneself out there, too.

Photography comes to the rescue. And, to me at least, still photography offers something specially valuable, even though it freezes human motion. Maybe it provides the appropriate object for staring: still gaze, still . . . [more]

In the Chronicle of Higher Education, an article about a law professor who outsources her grading work to India. She feels that detailed feedback is key to improving writing skills, but at some 5,000,000 words each year,

Her seven teaching assistants, some of whom did not have much experience, couldn’t deliver. Their workload was staggering: About 1,000 juniors and seniors enroll in the course each year. “Our graders were great,” she says, “but they were not experts in providing feedback.”

That shortcoming led Ms. Whisenant, director of business law and ethics studies at Houston, to a novel solution last

. . . [more]

Our friends over at Stem Legal have rolled out a new Media Strategy service for law firms. The aim is to develop with the client “a customized strategic plan for using the media (including social media) as a business development tool.” What makes this particularly interesting is that it’s headed up by the estimable Jordan Furlong. I can easily imagine how relieved some firms will be to have Jordan guide them through the fun-house halls of Twitter, Facebook, and the rest. I wish Stem every success in this venture.

[Disclosure: Stem Legal’s principal is Steve Matthews, who is a . . . [more]

A recent small claims case in NS has reinforced the point that if you are thinking of getting a tattoo you might want to apply a spell-checker or perhaps you might want to stop using your spell checker so that your eye might be better trained to spot spelling mistakes. In this case the individual saw the preview of the word and the stencil on her arm where “beatiful” (aka beautiful) was spelled incorrectly. The adjudicator ruled that “…the Claimant is the author of her own misfortune. The Claimant saw the phrase on the computer, on the stencil and then . . . [more]

Thanks to a good question from a new associate I have done some exploring of mobile access to legislation. The question was, “Is there any way to have a copy of an act that I use all the time available on my Blackberry?”

I can now say, “Yes”, and here is the method:

1. Open your Blackberry (or other smartphone)
2. Go to the mobile Web Browser and enter the URL for Canlii
   I suggest going directly to the URL for the language and jurisdiction of your choice (http://www.canlii.org/en/ab/laws/ for example)
3. Once there, you can search for the act name by

. . . [more]

Wow! Yet another indication that social media is becoming woven into all aspects of our daily lives. In the US the Office of Management and Budget issued a memo yesterday that will make it easier for US federal government agencies to communicate with citizens and collect feedback from them by way of the Internet and social media: Social Media, Web-Based Interactive Technologies, and the Paperwork Reduction Act.

To engage the public, Federal agencies now have guidance on expanding their use of social media and web-based interactive technologies such as blogs, wikis, and social networks, as a means of “publishing” solicitations . . . [more]

In law we’re used to structured data, although, like the oft-mentioned M. Jourdain, we may not know it by its fancy name. Very roughly, it’s data that’s been labelled in some useful way, so that it can be found or otherwise manipulated using that label. So, when we tell CanLII or our favourite commercial database that we’d like to see R. v. Molière, please, we’re wielding the label “case name,” for example. Like most professions and trades, we analyze our tools and products, naming the parts and their relationships, creating various “ontologies.” It starts simply in law school, . . . [more]

The Canadian Human Rights Commission recently posted a policy on its website concerning how it interprets and applies section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) when it receives an inquiry or complaint...

David Canton has been first to comment on the new digital version of the Ontario Reports that arrived in the inboxes of members of the Ontario bar this morning.

Although I take no credit for being a catalyst in this development (see my SLAW rant here from over 1 year ago), I am extremely pleased with the product and have already used it to print a nice PDF of one of the cases reported in it. The various advertisements for new publications, seminars and other material are often in color and fairly easy to scroll through.

I applaud the effort . . . [more]

Materials from a January 2010 conference held by the Self‐Represented Litigation Network of the U.S.-based National Center for State Courts were recently posted on the Webjunction website.

The conference took place in Austin, Texas.

“The Self-Represented Litigation Network is an open and growing group of organizations and working groups dedicated to fulfilling the promise of a justice system that works for all, including those who cannot afford lawyers and who go to court on their own. The Network brings together a range of organizations including courts, and access to justice organizations in support of innovations in services for the self‐represented

. . . [more]

From the Law Day 2010 Press Release

Access to Justice: Justice for All

Changes in legal systems, financial barriers, and language concerns can have an impact on the ability of all BC citizens to gain access to the justice system. This raises a question about whether everyone in BC has equal access to the justice system.

This concern for justice for all is the theme for this year’s BC Law week, which aims to connect BC’s citizens with members of the legal community. Simply, it means that every BC resident has a right to justice when confronted with a legal . . . [more]