Anything related to the court system, sentencing of offenders, or incarceration issues
Two days after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro met with members of his country’s political opposition, authorities released Freddy Guevara. A close ally of opposition leader Juan Guaidó, he had been charged in July with treason and terrorism. [node:read-more:link]
A lawyer representing detained Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou has cautioned against any “rubber stamp” extradition ruling by B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes. Eric Gottardi cited a 2006 opinion by then Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Beverley McLachlan that judges “must act as a judge, not a rubber stamp” when considering applications for extradition requests because it could “undermine the basic demands of justice.” [node:read-more:link]
A provincial court judge in Manitoba has stayed the charge of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl a decade ago because inaction and miscommunication by the RCMP and Crown prosecutors stalled the case for seven years. led to seven years of delays. The judge acknowledged the seriousness of the allegation but “even the most serious charges cannot diminish the right to trial within a reasonable time.” [node:read-more:link]
Edmonton lawyer Peter Royal has been cited for contempt by Alberta Provincial Court Judge Marilena Carminato for not masking against COVID-19 in her courtroom. The hearing transcript shows that Royal, who has been fully vaccinated, flatly refused the judge’s order and challenged her to do something. So she cited him but gave him time to prepare written arguments [node:read-more:link]
A Chinese court has sentenced Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison for alleged espionage and providing state secrets to other countries. The ruling comes more than two and a half years after he was detained in what many see as a political response to Canada’s detention of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at the request of the U.S. Spavor has been ordered deported but it was not immediately clear whether that would occur before or after his prison term. [node:read-more:link]
A Chinese court today upheld the death sentence imposed on Canadian Robert Schellenberg for drug smuggling even as a B.C. judge is expected to rule on the requested deportation of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou to face fraud charges in the U.S. Schellenberg originally was sentenced to 15 years but an appellate court imposed the death penalty in 2019, a month after Meng was detained at the request of the former U.S. administration. [node:read-more:link]
Saad Aljabri, a Saudi Arabian intelligence officer who came to Canada in 2017 is alleged by several companies in his homeland to have committed fraud. One of the companies is a sovereign wealth fund controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who evidently has made Aljabri a personal target. Now the U.S. Justice Department has intervened in the case on national security grounds. [node:read-more:link]
U.S. firearms manufacturers Smith & Wesson and Barrett Firearms are on a list of companies being sued in a Masschusetts court by the Mexican government, which says they knew they were contributing to illegal arms trafficking and increased violence in Mexico. Filed Aug. 3, the suit seeks as much as $10 billion in compensation. [node:read-more:link]
A lawyer for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, detained in Canada as a U.S. extradition case resumed in Vancouver, has accused the U.S. of abusing the legal process. manner. Mona Ducket has asked for a stay of proceedings, saying the U.S. had been “selective” with the information it has disclosed to Canadian authorities in the alleged fraud case. “The requesting state has . . . undermined the trust and cooperation required . . . to maintain international legal order.” [node:read-more:link]
Terrorism peace bonds are used by Canadian authorities to deal with extremists who left Canada to join terror groups, and then came back. Kevin Omar Mohamed travelled to Syria and called for attacks in Canada. Upon his return, he was charged with terrorism, and served a prison term. After breaching parole, he was placed on a peace bond which requires him to wear a GPS monitoring device for four years and undergo de-radicalization. It also bans him from possessing a passport, terrorist literature, explosives, bomb-making materials, firearms and knives. [node:read-more:link]
Zoom Video Communications has agreed to pay $85 million and bolster its security practices to settle a class-action lawsuit claiming it violated users' privacy rights by sharing personal data with several social media companies. Subscribers would be eligible for refunds after a judge signs off on the deal. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. Supreme Court has approved emergency requests by Christian and Jewish groups which have challenged COVID-19 crowd restrictions in New York state. Its twin 5-4 rulings are the latest in a series of decisions by the court which effectively backed religious groups chafing under pandemic-related measures. [node:read-more:link]
A British appeals court tribunal has agreed that a £5-billion lawsuit by 200,000 claimants against an Anglo-Australian mining giant can proceed. The case against BHP flows from the rupture of a tailings dam in 2015 which caused Brazil’s worst environmental disaster. [node:read-more:link]
A Russian district court has fined Google three million rubles (approx. $51,000 CAD) for violating personal data legislation. The company has confirmed the penalty, which is about half the possible maximum fine, but had no further comment. Meanwhile, a Moscow court has begun proceedings against Facebook and Twitter for the same alleged offence. [node:read-more:link]
A crowdfunded attempt to block the rollout of 5G mobile technology in Britain has been blocked by a judge. The group behind the case, who say the equipment emits harmful radiation, had raised more than £160,000, says it will continue to press for a judicial review despite its latest setback. [node:read-more:link]
