July 19, 2023 – Fine tuning…
CBC News – Elise von Scheel
Alberta violent crime cases at risk of being tossed, chief justice and advocates call for help – 22% of active criminal cases in Alberta exceeded Jordan period
The Jordan period is reasonable time for a case to get to trial: “The Jordan decision is a 2016 Supreme Court ruling that established a time limit for when a trial must be heard by. Provincial court cases have 18 months, while superior court cases (King’s Bench in Alberta) have 30 months.” Delays can have the impact of throwing out the case. In Alberta 22% of currently active cases are in violation of the Jordan rule and 91% of those are violent crime cases. Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Richard Wagner says the solution is judicial appointments. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/jordan-period-alberta-advocates-1.6907331
The Law Times.com (Canada) – Aidan Macnab
Ruling opens door to consider racial dynamics when assessing police use of force – Ontario Civilian Police Commission confirms police misconduct finding in ‘Neptune Four’ case
The Neptune Four were four Black teenagers whose encounter with police in 2011 raised issues with police misconduct prompted by racial elements. The Ontario Civilian Police Commission found the two Toronto officers guilty of misconduct and refused an appeal from the officers. “The four had disputed the finding that one of the officers was not guilty of discreditable conduct for pointing a gun at the complainants during the encounter. The Commission has substituted a finding of misconduct on that count, made a finding of misconduct for the officers’ arrest of two of the complainants, and confirmed the misconduct finding for excessive force against one of the officers for punching one of the teens.” https://www.lawtimesnews.com/practice-areas/human-rights/ruling-opens-door-to-consider-racial-dynamics-when-assessing-police-use-of-force/377903?utm_source=GA&e=bWptbWFuc2ZpZWxkQGJlbGwubmV0&utm_medium=20230718&utm_campaign=LTW-Newsletter-20230718&utm_content=&tu=
Global News – Brody Langager
Prince Albert police given list of 45 recommendations following independent review
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Corrections and Public Safety has issued a set of 45 recommendations to the Prince Albert Police Services following three deaths in custody within weeks in November of 2021. The recommendations seems basic and are about the operational and organizational side of the police services, as fundamental as job descriptions and differentiating of calls for service. Prince Albert police given list of 45 recommendations following independent review (msn.com)
The Canadian Press –
US attorney in Manhattan seeking federal takeover of city’s troubled Rikers Island jail complex
The controversy about replacing the infamous Rikers Island Prison in New York has boiled over again, this time the US attorney leading the charge and calling the conditions on Rikers “collective failure with deep roots.” US Attorney Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York wants control of the facility removed from the control of N.Y. Mayor Eric Adams and wants a court appointed outside authority to take over the prison. The controversy over replacing the prison has been raging for eight years. Williams is seeking a court appointed receivership for the prison. US attorney in Manhattan seeking federal takeover of city’s troubled Rikers Island jail complex (msn.com)
The Pew Foundation (US) – Burden of Proof
988: Suicide and Prevention Crisis Line
The US has had a 988 phone number for the Suicide and Prevention Crisis Line for almost a year. The link is to a podcast assessing the effort to date and its worthiness in suicide prevention. The assessments looks at the number of people who know about the number, the number of incidents involving police and people suffering from mental health issues, and the total number of calls received in the first 11 months of operation. https://view.pewtrusts.org/?qs=3a3c478d922086c20fcd790d982b19f78c78a9bff36a6ec628793c275636ca270657e3e1cbec025266426006fa731f2c4d1c42d2ef7c7f8a204bca10b51d71b920f8b51e4b99963ffb2d3bf138a1f44f
Tweet from John Howard (Canada) Celebrating Nelson Mandela Day July 18, 2023: Mandela Rule 25.2 Independent Health Care for Prisoners “In Canadian federal prisons, the jailer and the health care provider are the same entity. Security and fiscal concerns can trump health care needs. Prisoners complain about being cut off of prescribed meds for non-therapeutic reasons”… “How Canada is doing? “The Structure of health care in Canada is contrary to this rule because this responsibility falls entirely under Corrections Services Canada purview under Section 86 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act. This means that health care providers are not acting in full clinical independence as they are employed by CSC.” https://twitter.com/JohnHoward_Can/status/1681308847028453376?s=20
Common Dreams / American Civil Liberties Union –
ACLU Urges Court to Save Children from Deadly Heat at Louisiana’s Angola Prison – “It has been dangerously hot in Angola so far this summer,” said one medical expert. “Confining children for all or most of the day to concrete and cement buildings without air conditioning is foolhardy and perilous.”
The focus is Angola or the Louisiana State Prison where the old death row is doing service to lock up teenagers. Says Dr. Susi U. Vassallo, a medical expert for the prisoners, (who) wrote in a statement to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana: “”I would not dare to keep my dog in these conditions for fear of my dog dying… It has been dangerously hot in Angola so far this summer. Confining children for all or most of the day to concrete and cement buildings without air conditioning is foolhardy and perilous.” While the state, after repeated interventions by advocacy groups, has promised solutions to the problems at Angola, nothing substantial has in fact happened to date. https://www.commondreams.org/news/angola-prison-children
Amnesty International (Canada)
Open Letter Calls on Federal Government to End the Incarceration of People in Immigration Detention
Amnesty is reminding the federal government that eight of the ten provinces are refusing to use prison cells for immigration detainees and the refusal will require the government to pursue some other sort of administrative solution for paperwork problems: “Alberta’s public safety minister, Mike Ellis, has called on other provinces to stop immigration detention in provincial jails, stating, “People who come to Canada for a fresh start and a new life deserve a better welcome than a jail cell while paperwork is sorted out.” https://amnesty.ca/human-rights-news/open-letter-calls-on-federal-government-to-end-the-incarceration-of-people-in-immigration-detention/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=engagingnetworks&utm_campaign=utm_july_2023_newsletter&utm_content=July+Newsletter