The Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales
Here’s the Weekly Case Law Update for October 9, 2018.
If you are a member of the Law Society of Manitoba, and would like a copy of any of the decisions from the digest please contact the library and we will be happy to provide those for you.
As I’ve mentioned before, I read “What’s hot on CanLII” every week to find out what decisions a significant number of viewers found interesting. Sometimes, I make surreptitious finds that I like to share with you.
This week, the number 2 case was R. v. Morris, 2018 ONSC 5186. What was so significant about this case? It was written reasons for sentencing, provided by Nakatsuru, J. The importance of the decision is the language and the writing. Justice Nakatsuru wrote as if he was speaking directly to the offender. He used short sentences, plain English, and he explained every detail of how he came up with his decision and why he chose to accept some evidence even though the Crown objected.
This is not the first time Justice Nakatsuru has written in this manner. In R. v. Armitage, 2015 ONCJ 64, a decision of the Gladue court in Toronto, he also wrote directly to the offender.
I find this approach incredibly heartening. To me, it shows that justice is listening to offenders and not only taking into account their background, but explaining it to them so they can understand. In a law library like we have, we’re surrounded by works that require significant literacy skills to understand. Thank you to J. Nakatsuru for considering his audience while writing his decision.
The Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales
Here’s the Weekly Case Law Update for October 1, 2018.
If you are a member of the Law Society of Manitoba, and would like a copy of any of the decisions from the digest please contact the library and we will be happy to provide those for you.
The September 2018 edition of the Family Law Update has been published. Selected contents include:
Members have the option of signing up for email delivery.
The Government of Manitoba released its report on improving child welfare legislation on September 19, 2018. Titled “Opportunities to Improve Outcomes for Children and Youth“, it will provide guidance to the government to inform new legislation and policies.
On December 21, 2017, then Families Minister announced a formal review of Manitoba’s child welfare legislation. As community leaders, we were very pleased to be asked to lead this important initiative. Following our appointment, we spent the next four months holding meetings and reviewing written submissions and online survey responses. In addition to hearing formal presentations in Winnipeg, we met with key stakeholders in Thompson, Dauphin and Brandon. It is remarkable that over 1,540 individuals provided input in such a short frame of time.
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