LawLawLand: Recent Episodes
Mindy Caterina & Garrett Jamieson
Canadian podcast about laws and rights Winner: 2019 Clawbies, Best Podcast Nominee: Canadian Podcast Awards 2020, Outstanding Education Series
Our first episode of Season 2 covers a topic on everyone's mind right now: the spread of COVID-19. Mindy Caterina & Garrett Jamieson discuss the rights of people in Canada during this unprecedented emergency. Learn about what laws and powers will be available for the government to use, including:
- The federal Emergencies Act
- The federal Quarantine Act
- Provincial and territorial emergency laws and powers
Wishing everyone health and happiness from the bottom of our hearts.
Stay safe, be well, and . . . stop hoarding toilet paper!
Useful Links:
The federal Emergencies Act
The federal Quarantine Act
Globe and Mail article: "How measures to contain COVID-19 may clash with Canadians' Charter Rights"
In our final episode of Season 1 (episode "10b" for everyone who loves the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms), Mindy Caterina and Garrett Jamieson discuss what to do if you are arrested . . .
This one hitter explains:
- Why it's so important to ask for a lawyer, to speak with a lawyer, and to listen to what your lawyer tells you
- The big difference between Canadian and American police interrogations
- The "Golden Rule" to follow when you are arrested
That's a wrap for Season 1! A big THANK YOU to all of our listeners and supporters, we've received a lot of great suggestions for Season 2 . . . If you like what we are doing, please let us know (we LOVE hearing from you) and please share with your friends! Putting out these episodes is hard work, but the positive responses we've received makes it all worth it.
We are passionate about access to justice and hope this podcast contributes to helping Canadians understand their justice system, their rights, and . . . what to do (or more importantly, what not to do) when you are arrested . . .
Name says it all . . . Mindy Caterina and Garrett Jamieson chat about what it means to be arrested (no, you don't need to be handcuffed to be arrested), what it means to be detained, and what the deal is with police carding.
In this episode, you'll also learn about what your rights are when police arrest or detain you in Canada . . .
Here's one for activists and everyone who slept through this class in school! How do laws get made in Canada? In this quick one hitter, Mindy Caterina & Garrett Jamieson answer that very question...
In Part 2 of #meQ, Mindy Caterina and Garrett Jamieson break down the evidence of Lucy DeCoutere and S.D., the remaining two witnesses/complainants in the Jian Ghomeshi trial. Afterward, we discuss the fallout: how the media and campus movements treated Jian Ghomeshi's lawyer, Marie Henein, and Lucy DeCoutere's response to an article Jian Ghomeshi wrote years after the trial.
Finally, we ask if this trial created an opportunity to examine different ways of approaching sexual assault in Canada. We've talked about how and why the current system is the way it is. Is it the best tool to address this difficult issue? Could there be another way forward? Brighter minds than ours will figure out these answers. We just hope we can contribute to making this an informed conversation!
Useful Links:
Maclean's article that focused on the appearance of Jian Ghomeshi's defence team (discussed in this podcast episode)
"Let Justice Speak" - a defence lawyer discusses the opposition to Jian Ghomeshi's defence lawyer, Marie Henein, speaking at university campuses
Remember the Jian Ghomeshi trial? In late 2014, a number of women came forward with allegations of abuse against the CBC radio host. The CBC fired Ghomeshi, he was charged with criminal offences, and in 2016, he was tried before the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto.
The Jian Ghomeshi trial involved fame, intrigue, surprise . . . and an infamous teddy bear. It captivated Canada and galvanized a national conversation about sexual assault in Canada. Yet when all was said and done, Ghomeshi walked free.
In this two-part series, Mindy Caterina & Garrett Jamieson take a look at how and why the trial unfolded the way it did. Part 1 covers:
- Jian Ghomeshi - who he is and who he was when the allegations came out
- The Timeline - how the Ghomeshi allegations fit in with the timeline of the #metoo movement
- The Offences - the criminal offences of sexual assault and overcome resistance to choking
- The Trial - a review of the evidence of the first witness who testified at the Jian Ghomeshi trial
Useful Links:
Global News Timeline of the Jian Ghomeshi Sex Assault Scandal
Late October 2014: 8 women accuse Jian Ghomeshi of abusive behaviour
The Trial Decision: R v Ghomeshi, 2016 ONCJ 155
CBC article "Jian Ghomeshi ruling should be appealed, lawyer says"
(Note: the above CBC article describes a lawyer's opinion that the trial judge erred in finding that Ghomeshi did not drive a yellow Volkswagen Beetle at the time of his alleged assault of L.R. However, according to this article, it was an "agreed fact" that Ghomeshi did not lease a Volkswagen Beetle until 7 months after the events L.R. described. In criminal trials, "agreed facts" are facts that both sides accept as being true and that the trial judge is therefore entitled to rely on.)
Imagine being arrested and fined for not holding an escalator handrail . . .Unfortunately for Bela Kosoian, this happened in Canada!
The Montréal Municipal Court acquitted Kosoian and found that not holding the handrail was not an offence. Yet, Kosoian's attempts to sue for her wrongful arrest have been unsuccessful - which is why she is taking her case to the Supreme Court of Canada.
In this episode, learn about:
- The story of Bela Kosoian, the woman who was arrested in Québec in 2009 for not holding an escalator handrail
- How and why Bela Kosoian sued for her wrongful arrest
- Why the Québec Court of Justice and the Québec Court of Appeal ruled that Bela Kosoian was not entitled to damages
- Damages: the kind of damages being sought by Kosoian
- Damages: the case of Cameron Ward, the lawyer who sued the City of Vancouver after the police wrongfully arrested and strip-searched him because they thought he might throw a pie at the Prime Minister
UPDATE (after this episode was released)
On November 29, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada allowed Bela Kosoian's appeal. It ruled that the police officer had no legal justification to arrest Kosoaian and awarded her $20,000 in damages.
Supreme Court of Canada decision (English version)
CTV News article "Why the handrail verdict matters"
What if Garrett was charged with alarming the Queen? In this one hitter, Mindy uses Garrett as an example to explain how a criminal trial works.
Learn about:
- the difference between criminal trials and civil trials
- how evidence in trials is entered through witnesses
- how Garrett could defend his criminal charge
Rights, right? In our second full-length episode, Mindy & Garrett break down your legal rights in Canada. Learn about:
- Your legal rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- The case of James Keegstra: why sometimes, the government can infringe your rights
- The case of Hussein Nur: why minimum sentences for gun possession were struck down because they infringed the legal rights of Canadians
A quick one hitter that quickly breaks down how the Canadian Constitution works with the quickest criminal law example (basically).
In this episode, learn about:
- what legally happened in 1867
- why and how governments have power
- what the Queen's deal is in Canada
- what changed in 1982
Empower yourself, don't repress yourself! In this short one hitter episode, Mindy & Garrett chat about how to read and find Canadian criminal cases (with a quick detour into the constitution).
This episode is for anyone who wants to discover how to research Canadian criminal cases for themselves.
Learn about:
- how precedents work
- how to do your own legal research, and
- why all Canadian criminal cases begin with the name "Regina". . .
Mindy & Garrett get to the bottom of police search powers . . .
Topics covered include: how to know if you are being “searched”, when the police can legally search you, and, the question of the hour – when can the police strip search you?