Law
When the police want your photographs, should you comply? Jared Gnam looks at the ethical and legal issues surrounding a recent court order that saw six news organizations hand over their photographs and video to police to aid in the investigation of the 2011 Vancouver riot for the Langara Journalism Review.
For Internet users accustomed to posting, linking, tweeting, pinning, or otherwise communicating the news of the day online, they can breathe a sigh of relief as a recent decision from the Federal Court of Canada sends a strong signal that such activities fall within the law.
Danny Henry, senior legal counsel at CBC and a noted advocate for press freedom in Canada, will be leaving his job with the broadcaster after being issued a redundancy notice, sources say.
A visit from the bailiff indicating you face a potential lawsuit for something your story linked to: Not exactly the best day in a student press newsroom. Emma Godmere, national bureau chief of Canadian University Press, explains what happened when she recently faced this situation and how lopsided legal battles such as a student newspaper vs. university bureaucracy can stifle freedom of the press.
Allowing cameras in the courtrooms of criminal trials have some journalists saying it’s a threat to their livelihood. But as Alexandra Posadzki reports, it could also be used as a tool to increase public interest in court stories, and even create more demand for reporters in this field.
The full text from a speech given to Carleton University students by Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin discusses the relationship between the press and the courts, and how both are requisite to upholding a society built on the rule of law.
It’s been 30 years since Section 2(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms made a free press the law of the land. But, on the eve of a national conference to take stock of the state of press freedom in Canada, Ivor Shapiro sees more apathy than passion around the issue.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has asked Fredericton police for an explanation of why a local blogger, Charles LeBlanc, is being investigated under the little-used law of criminal libel. In a Feb. 1 letter, the group seeks an explanation of why LeBlanc, "apparently a vocal critic of the police force," had his computer seized during a search of his home. The group points out that courts in at least three provinces -- Ontario, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador -- have struck down the Criminal Code's libel provisions as a violation of the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression.
Read the CBC report, which includes the text of the letter.
There is a serious and troubling disconnect between the principle of open justice and the reality on the ground. Dean Jobb explains that in many jurisdictions, the bureaucrats who oversee court clerks and registrar’s offices have a habit of devising rules and policies that block access to court filings – policies that have little or no basis in law and make a mockery of Supreme Court of Canada precedents.
The Ontario Court of Appeal has struck down a sweeping ban on publishing details of the divorce proceedings of convicted murderer Col. Russell Williams, confirming that “emotional distress and embarrassment” are insufficient grounds for supressing information about court cases. The ban was lifted on Feb. 7.
Law
Edited by Thomas Rose
The Law Section is a clearinghouse for news, information, advice and commentary on matters of law of importance to journalists and to anyone with a passion or just a curiosity about the issues of our times.
Thomas Rose lectures in law and journalism at Wilfrid Laurier University. His research interests include journalism and democracy, international criminal law, and freedom of expression.
Thomas has published in various peer-reviewed academic journals and has an LL.M in International Law from Leiden University and a Masters in Studies of Law from Yale Law School. He is also an award winning journalist. Thomas has worked in public and private media for more than two decades as a Reporter, Senior Producer, Executive Producer, and Project Manager on national, regional and international multi-media projects. His work has taken him to Ghana, Italy, Northern Ireland, Vietnam, Russia, South Africa, and the United States. From 2006-2010 Thomas provided commentary and analysis on global affairs and legal issues for CBC online.
Sub-categories
 | Support J-Source | ||
 | Best online-only article or series | ||
J-Source and ProjetJ are projects of The Canadian Journalism Foundation in collaboration with leading schools and organizations Editor-in-chief, J-Source: | |||
Official list of Globe and Mail staff who took the buyouts
Why is this nice easy list of names with subheds not published as plain HTML (H2, OL, LI) with...
Do ethnocultural newspapers have a future in Canada?
Ethnic newspapers continue to provide a valuable role in transmitting information on Canadian...
OPINION: Video, shmideo: reporting is about telling what you see and hear
"It was as disreputable a piece of character assassination as I've ever seen in a...