US politics
fromAbove the Law
2 days agoMorning Docket: 04.03.26 - Above the Law
The Department of Justice may become more aligned with Donald Trump's influence following leadership changes.
Singh "has been placed in a special handling unit and has had limited access to counsel and the outside world since then," his lawyer Christopher Lutes said at a brief hearing on Wednesday. Singh has been held at the maximum-security Toronto South Detention Centre (TSDC) since he was arrested in October 2024 at his then residence, on the 34th floor of Toronto's former Trump Hotel.
David Lammy's plans to introduce judge-only criminal trials in England and Wales will save less than 2% of time in crown courts, the Institute for Government (IFG) has said. In a report that casts doubt on the ability of the changes, which will slash the number of jury trials to achieve their goal of wiping out the courts' backlog, the thinktank described the gains from judge-only trials as marginal.
* Maxwell refused to answer questions for Congress, but dangles possibility that she would talk if granted clemency. Surely it wouldn't be an issue that her testimony directly involves the person controlling the clemency decision! [ CBS News] * Research says AI has impacted junior lawyer judgment. The results confirm what we've been telling you! [ Legal Cheek] * Axiom closes its Arizona law firm. [ Reuters]
They don't drive it. They don't manage it. They don't control it. They let it control them. And then one day, they look up and realize discovery closed last week, the client is asking why nobody has taken the key depo, the adjuster wants a status report "by the end of the day," and the partner is asking the question that makes your stomach drop: "Where are we on this file?"
Young activists behind a legal challenge of Ontario's climate plan are set to ask the province's highest court to revive their case. Premier Doug Ford's government put the case in limbo late last year when it gutted its own climate legislation days before it was to answer for its weakened 2018 emissions target in court. Courts had previously found the gap between that target and what's required to help avoid severe climate impacts was large and without any apparent scientific basis.
The inspector general, a relatively new arm's-length position tasked by the province with overseeing policing, was asked to investigate Thursday after eight current and retired Toronto officers were charged in an organized crime and corruption investigation. The case immediately raised questions about whether systemic issues contributed to organized crime's alleged infiltration of the ranks, said Kent Roach, a University of Toronto law professor and contributor to several high-profile police inquiries. Those questions, he said, are best answered by a civilian-led investigation.
The Supreme Court of Canada will hear an appeal from a coalition challenging the constitutionality of legislation that opens the door to major changes at Ontario Place. The urban park on the Toronto waterfront, opened in 1971, included a theatre that showed movies on a huge screen, children's play areas and several pavilions suspended above the water. The Ontario government plans to redevelop Ontario Place to include an elaborate spa operated by a private company.
The offices "will ensure parents have a direct way to raise concerns, get help, and find solutions faster," Education Minister Paul Calandra said in a message to TDSB families last November.
A major corruption probe that led to the arrest of several Toronto police officers this week could put ongoing criminal court prosecutions at risk if the courts deem the officers' credibility fatal to the cases in question, experts say. The allegations against the officers have the ability to spoil entire cases, Criminal Lawyers' Association president Adam Weisberg says. This has the potential to cause a lot of cases to have to be stayed or withdrawn, he told CBC Toornto.