Monday’s Mix

Each Monday we present brief excerpts of recent posts from five of Canada’s award-winning legal blogs chosen at random* from forty-one recent Clawbie winners. In this way we hope to promote their work, with their permission, to as wide an audience as possible.

This week the randomly selected blogs are 1. Entertainment & Media Law Signal  2. Precedent: The New Rules of Law and Style  3. Slater Vecchio Connected  4. Legal Feeds  5. Off the Shelf

Entertainment & Media Law Signal
Licenses for Public Performance of Music at “Live Events” in Canada
SOCAN (the Canadian public performance rights collective) recently announced that in 2012 they paid over $20 million in royalties from “concerts and live entertainment”. That figure represented a 14% increase year-over-year. SOCAN is most often associated with the playing of songs on the radio or television, and the royalties which are generated for the composers and publishers as a result of such “public performance” – but it is worth noting that using music at a concert or other live event can trigger a variety of different payment obligations, both to SOCAN and to another collective, Re:Sound. . . .

Precedent: The New Rules of Law and Style
Not a safe haven
Lata came to Canada four years ago with all the hopes and dreams of a newlywed. Her marriage had been arranged back home after a careful search by her family. She married her husband just a few months after meeting him and then moved to Canada as a sponsored spouse. Lata (not her real name) moved in with her husband’s family and the first few weeks in Canada were all excitement. But, as time passed, Lata’s home life began to change. Her in-laws and husband became physically and verbally abusive. They prevented her from speaking to her own family back home and she was rarely allowed to leave the house. They threatened to have her deported if she tried to leave her husband. Eventually, terrified, Lata came to us at the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario (SALCO) . . .

Slater Vecchio Connected
Pedestrians Have the Right of Way
On the road, a pedestrian always has the right of way. Once they have entered a crosswalk, even if it’s against a light, they have the right of way to finish crossing. In Farand v. Seidel, the plaintiff Ms. Farand was struck in a marked crosswalk and suffered extensive injuries. Mr. Seidel was issued a ticket for failing to yield to a pedestrian. He claimed he didn’t see the plaintiff, but she was almost halfway across the intersection when she was struck. . . .

Legal Feeds
Appeal court orders new trial due to counsel’s ineffective representation
An appeal court judge ordered a new trial in a road rage conviction Thursday after finding the accused was served ineffectively by his legal counsel, who did not allow him to testify in his own defence. Linofiel Eroma was charged with possession of weapon for a dangerous purpose and aggravated assault after a road rage incident in Toronto, according to the ruling. He was convicted in April 2010, and sentenced to a 90 days in jail to be served intermittently with a three-year probation. Eroma appealed his conviction, claiming despite his wish to do so, his lawyer Paul Slocombe did not allow him to testify at trial. His testimony would have challenged the complainant’s credibility and the account of eyewitnesses, said Eroma. . . .

Off the Shelf
Go on a BibliOdyssey…
While having breakfast this morning, my eye fell upon a book that I had purchased a few years ago and has since been residing in the dusty chambers of my memory. It is titled BibliOdyssey: Archival Images from the Internet, and it is an interesting, contradictory item – it is a book of images from old, esoteric, and downright weird books that is taken from the BibliOdyssey blog. The blog is both proof that books as an art form are on the decline and that appreciation for the art form has arguably never been greater. With accompanying Tumblr and Twitter sites, it is a veritable treasure trove of exotic esoterica that fills the heart of any true bibliophile with joy. The book’s synopsis, taken from its publisher’s page, outlines its m.o. better than I ever could: . . .
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*Randomness here is created by Random.org and its list randomizing function.