Miscarriages of Justice: The Faults in the Canadian Criminal Justice System

The Canadian criminal justice system is often represented by the balanced scales of justice. These scales symbolize the need for the law to be viewed objectively in order to ensure a fair determination of innocence. Ideally, the criminal justice system should incorporate the values of the scales of justice to control crime and impose penalties on those who violate the law (Jordan, 2014). When dealing with crime, this system mainly uses methods of retributive justice in order to achieve its goals. However, despite justice being supposedly impartial, there is an overwhelming amount of injustice in all stages of the criminal justice process, from the charging of the individuals in court to their sentence in prison (Jordan, 2014). To combat this

The Canadian criminal justice system is often represented by the balanced scales of justice. These scales symbolize the need for the law to be viewed objectively in order to ensure a fair determination of innocence (Griffiths, 2011). Ideally, the criminal justice system should incorporate the values of the scales of justice to control crime and impose penalties on those who violate the law. However, despite justice being supposedly impartial, there is an overwhelming representation of Aboriginal people in all stages of the criminal justice process, from the charging of the individuals in court to their sentence in prison (Jordan, 2014). This is a clear indication that the criminal justice system is not adequately representing the needs of

The Criminal Justice System has many components that make it up. There are many differences and similarities between Canada and America like the culture, religion, and governments. Some of the main differences and similarities being the Criminal Justice System. The Criminal Justice System is the law that is related to arresting, sentencing and punishing people if found guilty with jail time, probation, or community service. In this research paper, I will be stating some of the main differences and similarities between the Canadian and American Judicial System.

Canada's Justice System It’s a common belief that western nations believe that their own justice system is blind, and that all people are equal before the eyes of the law. Whether or not that’s true is an entirely different scenario. Canadians take pride in our open mind approach to and acceptance of all cultures, multiculturalism is what makes this Canada so unique and great.

Underfunding is the greatest Challenge that is faced by the Canadian Criminal Justice System. This paper will discuss the Police Forces aging population and the challenges to replace them when they retire, it will also look at the insufficient quantity of officers needed to investigate all crime. The underfunding of the legal aid program and the effects on the courts and family law will be discussed. Finally the effects of long-term underfunding of the countries prison system and its effects on the most vulnerable inmates will also be measured.

The trial judge convicted Davis on three different counts. The counts were: possession of a weapon with harmful intentions, the assault of a police officer while on

The Canadian criminal justice system consists of multiple roles in order to sustain a well-working government system. The system is put in place in order to keep safety, equality, peace and fairness. There are four main functions of the criminal justice system that are interrelated segments that help protect a society from crime. The criminal justice system consists of policing, courts, corrections and parole. The component of the Canadian Criminal Justice System that will be discussed is about the process and function of the courts.

Between the two schools of epistemology, rationalism and empiricism, I am inclined towards the philosophies of rationalism. I am persuaded towards philosophical approaches which are superior at attaining truth. Empiricism relies on observation using the five senses in reasoning to achieve truth. However, in Plato’s Thaetetus, Socrates gives strong arguments for the limitations of human perception. The Canadian legal system, also, recognizes flaws in human observation, which increases my skepticism of empiricism. Conversely, rationalism relies solely on the use of logic and deduction in reasoning. Both, Plato and Socrates stressed the value of rationalism through the ability to know and express combinations of elements through mathematics. Large

In a narrow southwestern Ontario town of Clinton, Canada, where everyone was associated with the Royal Canadian Air Force base, living on or in company with the base - including a young, 14-year-old boy named Steven Murray Truscott, a popular, athletic teenager who inhabited with his parents. His father, Daniel Truscott, was an RCAF warrant officer and his mother, Doris Truscott, who did not have a job, she only dedicated her life after their family of 6. In June 1959 after a fellow classmate, Lynne Harper was discovered dead and raped, Steven Truscott was constructed to be the only suspect exposed by evidence, displaying to be convicted of first-degree murder. He would soon be acquainted as Canada's youngest death-row inmate, sentenced to be hung months after the murder, at age 14. It wasn't only 45 years later until he was finally exonerated of the crime he was not culpable of.

The Canadian Criminal Justice System is, for the most part, reflective of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and various Supreme Court of Canada case-law. Everyone who finds themselves on the opposing end of the Criminal Justice System is entitled to certain protections every step of the way, beginning even before the arrest; laws protect us from unreasonable investigative techniques, guarantee certain rights at point of arrest, and provide us with the right to counsel. The bail court departs from the ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ standard in that the crown only needs to prove on a balance of probabilities (Kellough, 1996, p. 175) in order to take away a person’s freedom. It is for this reason I decided to limit the scope of my

In today’s Canadian society, it is certain that criminal law is to serve and protect and its fundamental purpose is to prevent crime and punish offenders. However, there have been cases where criminal law has punished the offender who turned out to be innocent. A conviction is needed to show that the system is not in disrepute and to keep order and people safe in society. If a criminal cannot be caught then people will look down upon the system in disgrace. In many cases, officers will arrest an individual who fits a certain description that they know will lead to an arrest and conviction. In the case of Guy Paul Morin it shows how the system failed in aiding the innocent who abide to the law. The law is established to protect those who

Canada’s Criminal Justice System and its personnel’s may not be as perfect as it is portrayed. Authorities such as the police and judges are shown as making ethical decisions in favor of peace, equity, and justice in society, although, they may go beyond their boundaries and abuse their powers and authority and are subject to review. In this paper I will discuss how police and judges abuse their powers and authority within the Canadian Justice System and how it is dealt with as well as critique it from both an advantageous and disadvantageous perspective. First, I will discuss the mechanisms, such as the guidelines and rules

In R. v. Gladue, the Supreme Court of Canada addressed the issue of proper interpretation of s. 718.2(3) for the first time. The accused was an Aboriginal women charged with second-degree murder for the killing her common-law husband. Gladue’s defence counsel did not raise that she was an Aboriginal offender in his submissions on sentence at trial and she was sentenced to three years imprisonment and a ten-month weapon prohibition. Gladue appealed her sentence to the British Columbia Court of Appeal, and again to the Supreme Court of Canada in December 1998. Although her appeal was dismissed again, the Court went to provide a framework for interpreting s. 718.2(e). In this case, it was determined that the Court was required to consider all reasonable alternatives to imprisonment for all offenders with particular attention to the circumstances of Aboriginal offenders generally and not only to those living on the reserves. In particular, there needs to be more emphasis on restorative justice, where community members and the victim will also be involved in the process. The Court is allowed to take into account prior findings of guilt when determining the appropriate sentences and in some offences prior guilt will create a higher minimum sentence, which the Court

As mentioned, Canada is utilizing an alternative response to crime that is not primarily based in mass incarceration and punishments(Webster, C., & Doob, A, 2008). This result was possible in Canada because Canada has managed to resist wider punitive trends in terms of crime control against crimes. I believe Canada’s stability in levels of incarceration over the last 40 years is rooted in Canada’s cultural beliefs on restraint in the use of imprisonment and punishment itself

Malcom X once said “the media’s the most powerful entity on the earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of masses”. He is addressing the matter of media as a manipulative concept and that the media has a way to shape the readers minds into only seeing the negative point of view of a either a victim or offender. In doing so, it entitles that they have a large amount of power, which influences society’s decisions on whether or not they can trust the criminal justice system as a whole. In a recent case that took place back in September of this year, involving a 15-year old aboriginal girl named Tina Fontaine, the media illustrates the victimization of her in aspects that are not valuable for her character. However, not only is the issue degrading the victim, but it is also emphasizing the lack of care that the criminal justice system has towards victims, especially of another ethnic background. Thus, leading to the assumption of society lacking in confidence in the justice system. Overall, the way the media depicts Aboriginal women as victims in violent crimes is extremely concerning to society and the cultural aspects of Canada.