An email from a faculty member at the University of Toronto on the topic of AI made the rounds at law schools across Canada recently. It’s about using AI on final exams.

It points out that if a student has an app already open when they launch Examplify – the software most schools use to administer exams – they will have access to that app while writing the exam. This could be a browser with Lexis+AI or the app version of ChatGPT, which would still be online during the exam.

To avoid this, the company that makes Examplify advises running . . . [more]

Donald J. Trump’s second term as President of the United States has stunned the world. Commentators increasingly say the US has now crossed the Rubicon into authoritarian territory.

While some say Trump’s actions are erratic, a closer look reveals a methodical attempt by his administration to dismantle a broad range of US institutions and agencies and to suffocate international institutions, universal human rights, and the rule of law. The breakneck speed, scope, and impact of the Trump administration’s actions through Executive Orders and directives has created a chaotic atmosphere of uncertainty and fear around the world.

Checks and balances . . . [more]

CanLII recently unveiled a new interface with the most obvious change being the introduction of a an interactive sidebar for case law and legislation. The sidebar replaces the tabs that used to be located at the top of a page; they include such things as case history and treatment, cited documents, regulations, and AI analysis. The goal of the change was to make legal research on CanLII more efficient, since researchers can see this additional information without moving to a new page.

Clicking on the AI summary in the sidebar provides a helpful overview of the facts of the case, . . . [more]

Every week we present the summary of a decision handed down by a Québec court provided to us by SOQUIJ and considered to be of interest to our readers throughout Canada. SOQUIJ is attached to the Québec Department of Justice and collects, analyzes, enriches, and disseminates legal information in Québec.

PÉNAL (DROIT) : Après avoir relevé différentes contraventions à la Politique à l’égard de la désignation des techniciens qualifiés en éthylomètre alors en vigueur, le tribunal conclut qu’un doute raisonnable subsiste quant au fait que l’agent ayant manipulé l’éthylomètre approuvé était bien un technicien qualifié en éthylomètre au moment des . . . [more]

Earlier in March of this year, the Law Society of Ontario (“LSO”) removed its CEO following receipt of a report into the circumstances of a dramatic increase in her salary . Subsequently, members of the LSO received an email from the Treasurer, Peter Wardle, dated March 20th entitled “Strengthening governance and accountability at the Law Society of Ontario”, which is the focus of this post. (The message is available on the LSO’s website.)

Before addressing the Treasurer’s email, I provide a brief synopsis of the situation leading to it. Diana Miles became CEO in March 2018, after a year in . . . [more]

Just lately, commentators have criticized Prime Minister Mark Carney for activities he has been engaged in since taking over the leadership of the Liberal Party and thus the prime ministership. These activities, the commentators argue, breach the “caretaker convention” (“the convention”) (see, for example, Carson Jerema, “Mark Carney is acting like a normal PM. He’s not” (“Jerema”) and Tristin Hopper, “Mark Carney’s not really supposed to be doing anything” (“Hopper”), both in the National Post.

Jerema maintains “Mark Carney has been prime minister for all of a weekend, and he already can’t be bothered with . . . [more]

One of the most uncontroversial openings to this article I can offer is this: we are in uncertain and stressful times. Trade war? Check. Measles on the rise? Check. AI bringing untold and unpredictable change to the world? Check.

When surrounded by change and uncertainty the best advice I can offer is take hold of what you can control of your life and engage with what you can influence.

I can control the topic of my SLAW article this month and I am choosing to use this podium to encourage law firm partners to grasp hold of what you can . . . [more]

In the world of research, journal publishers are occasionally compelled to “retract” a published article. It may contain errors that posting a “correction” won’t sufficiently address, may utilize falsified data, may have been published elsewhere, may have been plagiarized, or may have been otherwise compromised. Yet the retracted paper does not disappear. It retains its place in the journal, while being stamped “Retracted” on page after page, along with an explanation. This reflects how the act of publication, when it comes to research, constitutes the official record. Publication is “performative,” according to speech act theory, like naming a ship . . . [more]

As a supplement to our Sunday Summary each month, Supreme Advocacy LLP in Ottawa presents Supreme One-Liners, a super-short descriptive guide to the most recent decisions at the Supreme Court of Canada. Supreme Advocacy LLP offers its more comprehensive weekly electronic newsletter, Supreme Advocacy Letter, summarizing all Appeals, Oral Judgments and Leaves to Appeal granted.

Leaves to Appeal Granted

Criminal Law: Sentencing; Indigenous
R. v. Cope, 2024 NSCA 59 (41431)

Differential sentencing for indigenous; Sentencing Circles.

Appeal Judgment

Prison Law: Inmate Disciplinary Proceedings; New Issues On Appeal
John Howard Society of Saskatchewan v. Saskatchewan (Attorney General), 2022 SKCA . . . [more]

Every week we present the summary of a decision handed down by a Québec court provided to us by SOQUIJ and considered to be of interest to our readers throughout Canada. SOQUIJ is attached to the Québec Department of Justice and collects, analyzes, enriches, and disseminates legal information in Québec.

CONSTITUTIONNEL (DROIT) : Dans le contexte du projet hydroélectrique de la Romaine, Hydro-Québec, à titre de mandataire de la Couronne, a contrevenu à son obligation d’agir en conformité avec les principes de l’honneur envers des Innus et a fait preuve de mauvaise foi institutionnelle; elle est condamnée à payer 5  . . . [more]