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Just to put finer points on a couple of things that you mentioned:
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Originally Posted by canadian citizen
If you are taking about the difference between a "solicitor " and a "barrister" that is British useage, not Canadian. In Canada, a lawyer is a lawyer....
Canadian lawyers are both "barristers and solicitors," and are styled that way for official purposes. But unlike the UK, there is no distinction between barristers and solicitors--all lawyers are supposed to be able to fulfil both functions. Meaning that ultimately, a lawyer is a lawyer, as you say.
In my experience, there are some lawyers who live for the courtroom and who absolutely hate the paperwork associated with a solicitor's role. So they take on as little of this work as possible. The opposite is true also: some lawyers dislike the courtroom, and prefer what is sometimes known as "paper lawyering." To each their own.
Note that in everyday usage, the word "lawyer" is most often used. "Barrister and solicitor" is the official styling, but outside of letterhead (e.g. "Smith, Jones, and Brown; Barristers and Solicitors") and a lawyer's commissioning stamp, I never see it used. And perhaps most interestingly, the term "attorney" is never used here to refer to a lawyer--at least, not among the legal profession itself.
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In criminal court cases, lawyers all wear the same type of gown and collar and vest....
Depends on the court. In a provincial court, which is where most criminal matters are heard, the dress code demands business attire: a suit and tie for men, and women's business attire for women. It is at the superior court (some provinces call this Queen's Bench) level where robes etc. are needed.
It is true that serious criminal matters are elevated into the superior courts from the provincial courts, but even then, the preliminary inquiries would occur at the provincial level.
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Another huge difference, in Canadian courts..........Jurors CANNOT EVER talk about their delibertions, EVER, under pain of criminal prosecution. Their identity, is protected, by law, and cannot be disclosed by any one. They ALSO cannot write about a case that they were a part of, nor can they profit from being a juror.
Not quite. They can talk all they want, write all they want--after the case is all over. When high-profile cases end, it is quite common to see the jurors being interviewed by TV news crews. But this all happens when the trial has ended, not during.
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The same law applies to convicted criminals. They cannot write about their crimes, nor profit from them.
No, they can write all they want; they just cannot profit from it. I believe this rule stems from Clifford Olsen, who (in addition to wanting to charge fees to the families of his victims for information on where the bodies were buried) planned to write a book from jail and make money that way. The authorities said no. He could certainly write a book if he wished (Charter, s. 2(b)), but he would not be allowed to receive any fees, royalties, etc., as the author.
I must dis-agree with one of your points, re jurors NOT being able to discuss ANY facts, about a case that they deliberated on. I draw your attention to this web page, by the Toronto Area Defense Lawyers Association, about the rights and obligations, of a juror, in Canada.
Scroll down to the section headed "After the Trial" and read the restrictions placed on a juror, by the Criminal Code of Canada, and the penalties that may occur, should they speak to ANYONE, about the case and the facts of the deliberations thereof. I think that you will find that you were mis-informed about this rule.
You were ,perhaps, confusing common practice, in the USA, with Canadian legal requirements for jurors to be silent.
I'm old enough to remember some of the really crusty members of the Toronto bench, such as H Tupper Bigelow, who was famous for his dislike of argyle socks, on junior counsel. Not a man to be crossed, as he ran his court.....his way. But he could also be hard on a Crown witness, who, for example had forgotten to give the serial number of the Borkenstein breath machine, in his testimony, in a "imparied and over 80 " traffic court case. As the Constable slunk away, towards the court room door, Bigelow could be heard whispering " Better Luck next time, Constable. " The Crown Attorney was mortified, as well as chastised. Time spent in rehearsal is never wasted, even on a drunk driving case.
I must dis-agree with one of your points, re jurors NOT being able to discuss ANY facts, about a case that they deliberated on. I draw your attention to this web page, by the Toronto Area Defense Lawyers Association, about the rights and obligations, of a juror, in Canada.
With all due respect to you, canadian citizen, unless you can show me a cited section of the Criminal Code, a piece of caselaw that states differently, or some other authoritative source, I will doubt your assertion. I see nothing in your link, nor in the sources referred to in that link, that take me back to a statute or to caselaw. Note that, as a practicing lawyer, I cannot rely on blogs, on commentary, or on opinion; when I am in court. I need citable authorities.
That being said, although I am familiar with the Criminal Code, it is a large document. I do not read it top to bottom daily. If you have something that runs counter to what I have asserted, and you can cite it to current statute/jurisprudence, please let me know. My clients will appreciate it.
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Time spent in rehearsal is never wasted, even on a drunk driving case.
Regardless of what has been said, I think we can agree on this!
I am a Dual citizen (Canada/USA) and after living in the USA for 5 years I can't wait to move back to Canada! Canada is by far superior in almost every way.
Education: My children don't even have to study here to maintain a 95% average. Canada is #3 in the world in education and I can tell you first hand that the education is far superior than the USA. Also, not only are the universities and colleges cheaper, the regulations are stricter and more consistent than in the USA.
Gun control: USA citizens cling to the outdated 1st amendment regardless of how illogical it is in modern times. They like to use the phrase " guns don't kill people, people kill people" a lot around here. Well, I can tell you, that may be the case, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that guns make killing people a hulluva lot easier!
Paranoia: the people in the USA are extremely paranoid. They are still scared of communism and think that socialism is a dirty word. They are so scared that if the governmentnt starts controlling some aspect of their lives it will eventually lead to communism. I live in a place where there can be a dilapidated trailer on one street and on the next an 8 M $ mansion. Maybe a little socialism wouldn't be so bad. The status quo hasn't really been working too well, has it?
Banking system: you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the USA banking system is lacking. Canada has one of the best in the world.
All about ME: in the USA it's all about me. My freedoms. My right to bear arms. Me me me. They don't really stop to think too much about how there selfishness affects others.
Recycling: they don't recycle where live in the USA. Canada is far more advanced in that area.
Doctors: pill pushers in the USA. They receive much higher kickbacks than in Canada.
Sports: USA takes them way too seriously. It should be for fun/entertainment.
Of course Tim hortons is better and it's not against the law to have an extra large sugary drink at any of your favorite restaurants, unlike in NY. If you live there you can own a semi automatic rifle but you can't have sugar in your extra large coffee. Typical USA logic
As a Canadian, Dee, I just have to point out a couple things.
First Amendment is free speech, of which, thanks to the Supreme Court, Canada is now lagging behind. Second Amendment is the gun one. Strangely the guns are my right crowd keeps forgetting the first three words of the Second Amendment "A well regulated..."
That, and New York is a no fun zone for firearms as well as Cokes. No handguns or long rifles, effectively permitted within the city legally.
wow no freedom of speech is what i read from someone, you cant say i hate asians because they are bad drivers and if you do you'll get thrown in jail, wow again Canada must have the worst Comedy clubs on this side of the world. LOL,
so if a group of people that might be gays or an ethnic minority are causing trouble, you cant say damn those gays and their parades down the street, or blacks are commiting crimes at certain areas and you cant say damn those N words, that must really suck not to use stereotypes or even say the truth, i like screaming hateful things about anyone at any given time, because lets face sometimes they are TRUE!!!!
Congratulations on a finely reasoned and well written opinion.
A few bits of information, about the city that I live in. Toronto.
About 50 percent of the people who live in Toronto now, were BORN in another country, not Canada.
In Toronto, we speak about 120 different languages, but the working language is English. Our Toronto Police Service has about 5000 uniform officers, of whom 35 percent speak at least two languages, besides English. So, yes, we do recruit our officers to reflect the face of the city's population.
About 70 percent of our recent Immigrants to Canada hold a 4 year University degree and within eight years of arriving in Canada, fully 80 pecent of them have become citizens of Canada. That in it's self is proof positive that we are doing things correctly, as it pertains to Immigration policies.
The days of unskilled manual labourers being able to come to Canada, as Immigrants, are long gone. Educated and experienced immigrants are what we are looking for now. In the past three years, Canada has welcomed a steady stream of young, educated Irish people. About a 1000 a month are arriving here, mainly heading to the western Provinces, to skilled trades jobs in the oil and gas fields. They have pre approved jobs waiting for them, and they are a great addition to our society.
Jim B
Toronto.
must be nice not to have 20 million people flood your country over the past decades illegally, wish we would be able to use that example here in the States.
must be nice not to have 20 million people flood your country over the past decades illegally, wish we would be able to use that example here in the States.
Well we do have our own unique little problem to deal with constantly:
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