Anything related to the court system, sentencing of offenders, or incarceration issues
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said today that it is taking longer than expected to find someone to lead a public inquiry into foreign interference. The focus now is on sitting judges whom the government must approach through Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Richard Wagner. [node:read-more:link]
The Supreme court of Canada is being asked to rule on the cases of four men detained in Syria after allegedly travelling to join the Islamic State. A Federal Court of Canada judge ruled last January that the government could request their release but that was overturned by the Federal Court of Appeal in May. [node:read-more:link]
A Montrealer who pleaded guilty to sending Donald Trump a ricin-laced letter in 2020 has been sentenced in Washington to nearly 22 years in prison. However, Pascale Ferrier, 56, who also was charged with sending similar letters to police and prison officials in Texas, told the presiding judge that her actions were “activism” rather than terrorism. [node:read-more:link]
Plea agreements are being considered for the group of men detained in Guantanamo Bay after the September 11 attacks against the U.S. in 2001. The FBI and the Department of defense have advised families of some of the victims that the deals would negate the possibility of capital punishment. [node:read-more:link]
A coalition of 19 First Nations and the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs have applied to the Federal Court to intervene in a case involving open-net fish farms off northern Vancouver Island and their impact on wild salmon. They say they are obliged to protect wild salmon for current and future generations. The closures are being challenged by two other indigenous communities in the area as well as three fish-farming companies. [node:read-more:link]
Britain has disclosed that it has taken into custody three long-term resident Bulgarian nationals suspected of being Russian agents. Charged with possessing identity documents, including multiple European passports, the trio were among five persons arrested last February. [node:read-more:link]
The Supreme Court of Canada announced today (Case No. 40622) that it would not hear an appeal by some B.C. religious leaders who challenged limits on indoor services during the pandemic. The province’s appeal court had ruled last December that the restrictions were justified on health grounds even if they did infringe on constitutional freedoms. [node:read-more:link]
Pending the outcome of a legal challenge, the U.S. Supreme Court today narrowly upheld a 2022 regulation designed to address a growing “ghost gun” market. The regulation does not ban the sale or possession of kits or components but does require manufacturers and sellers to obtain licences, mark products with serial numbers and conduct background checks. [node:read-more:link]
Israel’s highest court heard a petition August 3 against a proposed amendment to legislation passed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his religious-nationalist coalition government. The amendment would limit the reasons for removing a leader from office to physical or mental incapacitation, which benefits Netanyahu, who could have been removed from office for conflict of interest due to his pursuit of judicial changes while he is on trial for corruption. [node:read-more:link]
A Russian court today convicted imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny of extremism and sentenced him to 19 years atop a nine-year term he’s already serving on charges he says were politically motivated. Almost all key opponents of President Vladimir Putin are in prison or self-imposed exile and Navalny had said he was expecting a “long Stalinist sentence.” [node:read-more:link]
As expected, former U.S. President Donald Trump pled not guilty today in a Washington courtroom to four charges of conspiring to remain in office despite losing the 2020 presidential election. [node:read-more:link]
A Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge has ordered Halifax YouTuber Nermine Adel Khalil to pay $175,000 for defamatory statements against an Egyptian career diplomat but she says she won’t pay or cease her attacks. The former Egyptian national and now Canadian citizen defamed and threatened Nashwa Abdelhamid Mohamed Abdelkader in videos described by Justice Gail Gatchalian (Docket Hfx .No. 518711) as “outrageous, insulting, spiteful and malicious.” [node:read-more:link]
Former U.S. President Donald has been charged with four criminal offences by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who has been investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020. The 45-page indictment released August 1 alleges a broad conspiracy to keep the Republican leader in power after he lost the presidency to Democrat challenger Joe Biden. [node:read-more:link]
Two Michigan allies of Donald Trump have been charged in connection with attempting to tamper with the state’s voting machines after the 2020 presidential election. Lawyer Matthew DePerno and former state representative Daire Rendon, the latest of nine persons identified with the alleged plot, are charged with conspiracy. [node:read-more:link]
Simranjit (Shally) Singh, 41, an Indian national from Brampton arrested in 2022, has pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court in Albany, New York, to human smuggling as part of a network which enabled Indian migrants to cross the border. Sentencing is scheduled for December. [node:read-more:link]
