Last year at about this time the Court of Appeal for England and Wales overturned the conviction of one T (R. v. T. [2010] EWCA Crim 2439) on the charge of murder. It was an identification issue and a critical element in linking the defendant to the crime had to do with a shoeprint left at the scene. The judgment is heavily redacted, reminiscent of some grudging government compliance with a FOI order; nevertheless, it’s clear that shoes found at the defendant’s house had soles that matched the patterns found at the scene of the crime. The important . . . [more]

A video has come to light in which Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, responded to a question by saying that “all these concerns about privacy tend to be old people issues”.

While it may be that some younger people may be a bit more permissive with their information than older generations, it does not mean that younger people are not concerned about privacy, or are not exercising control over their personal information.

His comment has lead to a strongly worded rebuke by Ann Cavoukian, the Ontario Privacy Commissioner.

From her article:

Here we go again. Once more, the chief

Not that Research in Motion needs more bad news and Apple more positive press, but today Apple launches a significant update to its operating system along with its new cloud service.

I am looking forward to testing out both new developments since I continue to more heavily integrate my iPad into the practice of law (in addition to amassing more Zombie games, including the highly addictive Call of Duty: Zombies HD; my joy in slaughtering zombies, albeit only in a video game app, is causing me concern, although there are apparently no moral issues in killing the undead . . . [more]

While the US government deals with having less A’s these days it’s been AAA (August Acquisition Action) in the world of legal publishing.

We’re not sure though whether we should adding a plus or minus after those three A’s.

Law Librarians News readers will know that we’ve touched upon this subject in our last two editorials

Usually we see acquisition and deal season in the world of legal publishing happen either post Easter or in September to combine with the Partridge hunting season (Sep 1 – Feb 1) in the UK.

But for reasons we haven’t yet deciphered August 2011 . . . [more]

This past weekend, the State of California passed legislation banning minors from using tanning beds. This law will take effect on January 1, 2012. This is the most restrictive law on the use of indoor tanning beds in the United States (other states have some restrictions on the use, but no outright ban). Law-makers cite health concerns associated with this activity to justify the legislation.

Prior to this law, minors between the ages of 14 and 17 had to get parental consent before being able to use tanning beds, with the activity prohibited for those under the age of 14. . . . [more]

Does the Air Canada labour dispute really put Canada’s ‘fragile economy’ in jeopardy?

Listening to the radio this morning and seeing this Government of Canada news release, a reasonable Canadian citizen could think that the only thing keeping Canada’s economy healthy is uninterrupted air travel. The other side of the coin is that over 65 percent of the Air Canada flight attendant members of CUPE rejected the most recent contract offer on October 9.

Regardless of your opinion on the particulars of this current labour dispute, my question is this:

Does the threat of back to work legislation from . . . [more]

Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Gus Van Harten and his team have launched a website and database on “International Investment Arbitration and Public Policy.” At its heart, IIAPP offers a database of summaries of some 150 cases brought by investors against states under treaties channelling disputes into less costly arbitration. Examples most familiar to Canadians will be those investor-state arbitrations carried out under NAFTA’s Chapter 11. Investor treaties touch upon a great many policy areas critical to a state’s functioning, areas including agricultural, environmental, human rights and public health policies.

Along with the database come a series of . . . [more]

Namespaces are used in XML to avoid the problems caused by what would, without the use of namespaces, be latent ambiguities.

A long time ago, in a place far away, there were two ships called “Peerless”. The plaintiff in Raffles v. Wichelhaus (1864), 2 H. & C. 906 (LLMC), 159 E.R. 375 (Hein), 33 L.J.N.S. 160, claimed he had a contract with the defendants for the delivery of some cotton to the defendants in Liverpool “ex Peerless from Bombay” (a.k.a. Mumbai). The defendants claimed they had refused to accept delivery from the Peerless which had sailed . . . [more]

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision in Sierra Club Canada v. Ontario was recently made available online. The decision is important for examining the level of deference by the judiciary in applying judicial review where matters extend into public policy relating to the precautionary principle in environmental law.

Background

The Detroit International Crossing Project (DICP) would add a much needed additional crossing to the Windsor-Detroit border, connecting the American interstates with the new Windsor-Essex Parkway and the 400 series highways in Ontario. Although the Windsor-Detroit crossings were only operating at 66% capacity in 2004, a significant increase in travel . . . [more]

Adbusters’ founder Kalle Lasn talks with The Tyee about his role in the current US protests, other contributors, and what he sees as the nub of the problem:

When the financial meltdown happened, there was a feeling that, ‘Wow, things are going to change. Obama is going to pass all kinds of laws, and we are going to have a different kind of banking system, and we are going to take these financial fraudsters and bring them to justice.’ There was a feeling like, ‘Hey, we just elected a guy who may actually do this’ … And then slowly this

Chas Rampathal, the General Counsel and Vice President of LegalZoom is giving the lunch keynote at today’s PLTC 2011 in Vancouver on the Future of Legal Practice.

LegalZoom is a company that is responsible for 20% of the corporate formations in the US last year.

This is a live post: . . . [more]

The police cannot force someone to talk and then use the answers against them; can environmental regulators do so?

The courts have always allowed them to. In 1969, the Ontario Court of Appeal convicted Strand Electric [1968 CarswellOnt 291, [1969] 1 O.R. 190, [1969] 2 C.C.C. 264] of failing to maintain a scaffold in good condition contrary to the Construction Safety Act. The only evidence against the company was an oral statement made by its supervisor to a government inspector, a statement that he was required to make under the Act. The Court ruled that since the Company had a . . . [more]