Law and justice

Amanda Todd’s mother, Carol Todd, leaves the New Westminster Law Courts in New Westminster, B.C. Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022. Dutch national Aydin Coban returns to a B.C. Supreme Court courtroom as his multi-day sentencing for child sexploitation resumes. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Man who sextorted B.C. teen Amanda Todd needs sentence to fit harm he caused: Crown

Crown asking for a 12-year sentence for the Dutch man convicted in case

Amanda Todd’s mother, Carol Todd, leaves the New Westminster Law Courts in New Westminster, B.C. Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022. Dutch national Aydin Coban returns to a B.C. Supreme Court courtroom as his multi-day sentencing for child sexploitation resumes. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Surrey mayoral candidates, incumbent Doug McCallum, second right, Sukh Dhaliwal, back left, Brenda Locke, second left, and Jinny Sims, right, wait for the start of a candidates meeting in Surrey, B.C., Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

An election, then a trial, poses unusual test for Surrey’s Mayor McCallum

McCallum is being challenged for the top job by seven contenders

Surrey mayoral candidates, incumbent Doug McCallum, second right, Sukh Dhaliwal, back left, Brenda Locke, second left, and Jinny Sims, right, wait for the start of a candidates meeting in Surrey, B.C., Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
FILE — Adnan Syed, center, leaves the Cummings Courthouse on Sept. 19, 2022, in Baltimore. A judge has ordered the release of Syed on Tuesday, Oct. 11 after overturning his conviction for a 1999 murder that was chronicled in the hit podcast “Serial.” (AP Photo/Brian Witte, File)

Prosecutors drop charges against Adnan Syed in ‘Serial’ case

Syed captured the attention of millions in 2014 when the debut season of the podcast “Serial”

FILE — Adnan Syed, center, leaves the Cummings Courthouse on Sept. 19, 2022, in Baltimore. A judge has ordered the release of Syed on Tuesday, Oct. 11 after overturning his conviction for a 1999 murder that was chronicled in the hit podcast “Serial.” (AP Photo/Brian Witte, File)
Floodwaters cover Ray Chipeniuk’s driveway near Smithers, B.C. in this 2018 handout photo. Lawyers for the British Columbia government have agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a lawsuit by Chipeniuk and his wife whose property flooded after a third of the forest in the surrounding watershed was cut down. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Ray Chipeniuk *MANDATORY CREDIT*

B.C. agrees to pay $300,000 to couple who say logging flooded their property

2014 suit claimed B.C. was negligent in ensuring couple’s property would not be damaged by logging

Floodwaters cover Ray Chipeniuk’s driveway near Smithers, B.C. in this 2018 handout photo. Lawyers for the British Columbia government have agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a lawsuit by Chipeniuk and his wife whose property flooded after a third of the forest in the surrounding watershed was cut down. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Ray Chipeniuk *MANDATORY CREDIT*
Actor Kevin Spacey leaves court following the day’s proceedings in a civil trial, Thursday, Oct 6, 2022, in New York, accusing him of sexually abusing a 14-year-old actor in the 1980s when he was 26. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Actor tells jury Kevin Spacey abused him when he was 14

Anthony Rapp testified on the second day of a civil trial in Manhattan

Actor Kevin Spacey leaves court following the day’s proceedings in a civil trial, Thursday, Oct 6, 2022, in New York, accusing him of sexually abusing a 14-year-old actor in the 1980s when he was 26. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Colorado lawyer Autumn Scardina poses for photos outside the Ralph Carr Colorado Judicial Center in Denver, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022. Scardina, who is transgender, sued Colorado baker Jack Phillips after he refused to make her a cake intended to celebrate her gender transition. (AP Photo/Colleen Slevin)

Colorado baker fighting ruling over gender transition cake

Man did not think someone could change genders, would not celebrate ‘somebody who thinks they can’

Colorado lawyer Autumn Scardina poses for photos outside the Ralph Carr Colorado Judicial Center in Denver, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022. Scardina, who is transgender, sued Colorado baker Jack Phillips after he refused to make her a cake intended to celebrate her gender transition. (AP Photo/Colleen Slevin)
Sex workers and their supporters gather outside the Ontario Superior Court during the launch of their constitutional challenge to Canada’s sex work laws, on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin

Prostitution laws, not sex work, source of ‘structural inequality,’ says lawyer

Sex workers arguing in court legislation fosters stigma, invites violence and removes safe consent

Sex workers and their supporters gather outside the Ontario Superior Court during the launch of their constitutional challenge to Canada’s sex work laws, on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin
B.C. Attorney General Murray Rankin looks on as Premier John Horgan speaks at the Legislature, in Victoria on March 30, 2022. Rankin says fighting crime by arresting more people will be “futile,” and the government is considering a range of options to keep people safe. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

B.C. attorney general says increasing arrests to fight violent crime won’t work

Opposition says “catch-and-release” policy creating fear in cities from Vancouver to Terrace.

B.C. Attorney General Murray Rankin looks on as Premier John Horgan speaks at the Legislature, in Victoria on March 30, 2022. Rankin says fighting crime by arresting more people will be “futile,” and the government is considering a range of options to keep people safe. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
B.C. Environment and Climate Change Strategy Minister George Heyman speaks during an announcement at Burns Bog, in Delta, B.C., on Monday, June 29, 2020.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. breaking its own law on climate-change reporting, Sierra Club tells court

Group wants province to come up with a new accountability report for 2021

B.C. Environment and Climate Change Strategy Minister George Heyman speaks during an announcement at Burns Bog, in Delta, B.C., on Monday, June 29, 2020.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
FILE - The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, Monday, June 27, 2022. The satirical site The Onion has some serious things to say in defense of parody. The online humor publication has filed a Supreme Court brief in support of a man who was arrested and prosecuted for making fun of the Parma, Ohio, police force on social media. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

The Onion and the Supreme Court — not a parody

Satirical web site speaks in favour of man arrested for making fun of the police on social media

FILE - The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, Monday, June 27, 2022. The satirical site The Onion has some serious things to say in defense of parody. The online humor publication has filed a Supreme Court brief in support of a man who was arrested and prosecuted for making fun of the Parma, Ohio, police force on social media. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
A man using a rolling walker walks on the street past tents setup on the sidewalk at a sprawling homeless encampment on East Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on August 16, 2022. The city has been clearing the street in accordance with a safety order by the city’s fire chief. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Judicial review sought of fire order to remove tents off Vancouver street

Petition argues fire chief made order without procedural fairness to those living on Hastings Street

A man using a rolling walker walks on the street past tents setup on the sidewalk at a sprawling homeless encampment on East Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on August 16, 2022. The city has been clearing the street in accordance with a safety order by the city’s fire chief. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A sex trade worker is pictured in downtown Vancouver on June, 3, 2014. An alliance of sex worker rights groups is in Ontario Superior Court today asking for several sections of the Criminal Code to be deemed unconstitutional. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Sex workers challenging criminal laws in court, citing Charter violation

Case argues laws that criminalize advertising sexual services violate workers’ Charter rights

A sex trade worker is pictured in downtown Vancouver on June, 3, 2014. An alliance of sex worker rights groups is in Ontario Superior Court today asking for several sections of the Criminal Code to be deemed unconstitutional. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
A Lululemon Athletica logo in Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday August 21, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Lululemon settles lawsuit against Peloton over alleged patent infringement

Settlement comes a day after a New York court dismissed a lawsuit by Peloton

A Lululemon Athletica logo in Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday August 21, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Gavel (Courtesy photo)

Parliament passes law allowing jurors to disclose information to health providers

Criminal Code will be amended in cases of medical or psychiatric treatment, therapy or counselling

Gavel (Courtesy photo)
Vancouver Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini pauses for a moment during a press conference in Vancouver on Wednesday, April 9, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

NHL monitoring Aquilini’s family court proceeding, after allegations of child abuse

Vancouver Canuck owner ‘categorically denies’ allegations made by ex-wife in family court hearing

Vancouver Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini pauses for a moment during a press conference in Vancouver on Wednesday, April 9, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Nuchatlaht and Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation leaders and supporters rally at the BC Supreme Court in Vancouver on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, ahead of closing arguments in an Indigenous title case between the Nuchatlaht First Nation and the B.C. government. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Brieanna Charlebois

Lawyer for First Nation says goal of Nootka Island land claim case is reconciliation

Nuchatlaht First Nation claims government “effectively dispossessed” it of Vancouver Island territory

Nuchatlaht and Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation leaders and supporters rally at the BC Supreme Court in Vancouver on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, ahead of closing arguments in an Indigenous title case between the Nuchatlaht First Nation and the B.C. government. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Brieanna Charlebois
Greater Victoria School District trustees Diane McNally and Rob Paynter were censured by the board and suspended from their duties until October for misconduct relating to bullying and harassment complaints. (Black Press Media file photos)

Judges says B.C. school board lacked authority to suspend trustees

Diane McNally and Rob Paynter have been reinstated after suspension over alleged bullying

Greater Victoria School District trustees Diane McNally and Rob Paynter were censured by the board and suspended from their duties until October for misconduct relating to bullying and harassment complaints. (Black Press Media file photos)
Greater Victoria School District trustees Diane McNally and Rob Paynter were censured by the board and suspended from their duties until October for misconduct relating to bullying and harassment complaints. (Black Press Media file photos)

Judges says Greater Victoria School Board lacked authority to suspend trustees

Diane McNally and Rob Paynter have been reinstated after suspension over alleged bullying

Greater Victoria School District trustees Diane McNally and Rob Paynter were censured by the board and suspended from their duties until October for misconduct relating to bullying and harassment complaints. (Black Press Media file photos)
FILE - Alex Jones speaks to the media before entering court for day five of the Sandy Hook defamation damages trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Waterbury, Conn., Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022. Seven days into his trial for calling the Sandy Hook school shooting a hoax, Jones is expected make his first courtroom appearance and begin testifying Thursday, Sept. 22 as he and his lawyer try to limit damages he must pay to families who lost loved ones in the massacre. (Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP, File)

Alex Jones testifies in trial over his Sandy Hook hoax lies

Jones complained to reporters during breaks about not being able to testify that he is ‘innocent’

FILE - Alex Jones speaks to the media before entering court for day five of the Sandy Hook defamation damages trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Waterbury, Conn., Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022. Seven days into his trial for calling the Sandy Hook school shooting a hoax, Jones is expected make his first courtroom appearance and begin testifying Thursday, Sept. 22 as he and his lawyer try to limit damages he must pay to families who lost loved ones in the massacre. (Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP, File)
A kayaker paddles on the Capilano River during the whitewater kayaking portion of the Red Bull Divide and Conquer endurance race in North Vancouver, B.C., on Saturday June 8, 2013. The race included an 1,800-metre ascent run to the top of Grouse Mountain, a bike ride down the mountain to the Cleveland Dam and a 10-km whitewater kayak along the Capilano River to Burrard Inlet in West Vancouver. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Woman who survived deadly torrent released from B.C. dam sues regional district

Lawsuit says woman suffered physical injuries as well as post-traumatic stress disorder

A kayaker paddles on the Capilano River during the whitewater kayaking portion of the Red Bull Divide and Conquer endurance race in North Vancouver, B.C., on Saturday June 8, 2013. The race included an 1,800-metre ascent run to the top of Grouse Mountain, a bike ride down the mountain to the Cleveland Dam and a 10-km whitewater kayak along the Capilano River to Burrard Inlet in West Vancouver. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck