2017 Annual Spring Conference
Date: Saturday, June 3, 2017
RECORDED ON: Saturday, June 3, 2017, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Recorded Webcast and PDF Materials Pricing:
- CLA members: $55 plus HST ($62.15)
- Non-members: $100 plus HST ($113.00)
The Criminal Lawyers’ Association 2017 Annual Spring Conference held on June 3, 2017 has been accredited for 1 hour and 40 minutes of Professionalism Content. This program is also eligible for 2 hours and 20 minutes of Substantive Content.
As criminal defence lawyers our days are filled with dealing with innocently charged people, combing through their eclectic background in search of why they were misjudged by the police, being the best advocate you can against a Crown who firmly believes the police charged the right individual, and presenting your case before a Judge or a Jury inviting them to acquit this poor soul wrongfully charged based on the “very” weak and “very” unreliable evidence the Crown dared introduce as part of its case. We do not deal with clients wanting a will, needing a lawyer to close their house deal, or multi-million dollar corporations in need of income tax advice. We are not even in the same ballpark. What we do is deal with Divergence – “moving or extending in different directions from a common point”. That, in one word, is what we practice.
The first panel, “Divergent Remedies”, will speak about taking the various remedies like exclusion and a stay of proceedings and moving them from their comfortable positions in the “usual” case law to seeking them in fact scenarios they are not accustomed to being in. For example, can you get breath samples in an over 80 case excluded under s. 24(2) or even s. 24(1) of the Charter because your client was held unreasonably long at the police station after providing the required breath tests.
The “Divergent Defences” panel will speak about dealing with the various actors in the criminal justice system from persons with disabilities, to child witnesses to multi-cultural participants who may require being approached from a different point of view than we are accustomed to. It is imperative that we not only educate ourselves about these differences, but we also educate the trier(s) of fact to ensure they understand the different nuances that may exist.
“Divergent Drugs” is becoming very prominent in all of our communities since oxycodone can no longer be crushed up and misused by addicts. There has been an influx of new drugs that most of us have to quickly become educated in to properly defend our clients. This panel will speak about these issues and what potholes to watch out for when defending these cases.
Of course there would not be a spring conference without the discussion of ethics. This spring we will be educated on issues the Law Society has with lawyers in the year 2017.
Finally, the last panel will give us pointers in dealing with a client who has mental health issues. They will help us to identify what exactly a mental health issue is, how to utilize the current court system in servicing these clients, and what the best strategy is when defending these accused persons.
As always, we are proud to have created a divergent theme this year. We hope you enjoy it.
SPRING CONFERENCE AGENDA:
Welcome and Introductions (8:20 to 8:30 a.m.)
Divergent Remedies – Recent Case Law (8:30 to 9:15 a.m.)
- Jeffrey Milligan, Defence Lawyer (Toronto)
- The Honourable David Rose, Ontario Court of Justice (Newmarket)
- John Neander, formerly of the Newmarket Crown Attorney’s office and now with the Crown Law Office – Criminal (Toronto)
Divergent Defences – Pushing the Envelope (9:15 to 10:15 a.m.)
- Solomon Friedman, Edelson & Friedman (Ottawa) – Exploding the CFS boilerplate (attacking CFS reports)
- Nadir Sachak, Defence Lawyer (Toronto) – Going back to first principles – making your case’s greatest weakness your strength
- Angela L. McLeod J.D, Barrister – Criminal Law Specialist (Barrie) – Using social media to win the case
Divergent Drugs – New Drugs and Applicable Sentences (10:15 to 11 a.m.)
- Peter Thorning, Brauti, Thorning ,Zibarras LLP (Toronto)
- Wendy Houtmeyers, Public Prosecution Service of Canada (Brampton)
- Joel Mayer, Ph.D, FOREXPERTS Forensic Science Consulting Services (Toronto)
- Acting Inspector Craig Hudson (Whitby)
Break (11 to 11:30 a.m.)
Divergent Ethics (11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.)
- Nadia Liva, Defence Lawyer (Toronto)
- Lisa Freeman (Toronto)
Divergent Personalities – Clients with mental health issues (12:15 to 1 p.m.)
Addressing: assessments, NCR, sentencing, and client relations
- Erin Dann, Erin Dann Barristers (Toronto)
- Katalin Kirec: Crown with Old City Hall (Toronto)
- The Honourable Jonathan Bliss, Ontario Court of Justice (Barrie)