R Vs Gladue Case Analysis

Ignorance to other cultures leads to fear and throughout history this fear can lead to violence. An example is seen in any serial killer who escalates in their crimes, such as, Keith Hunter, who started with animals and worked his way up to killing many women until he finally was caught after killing his fiancée. This serial killer is not from Calgary and not learning about other cultures will drive everyone to kill; however, the more understanding we have of others the less fear there is towards other cultures. I believe the problem our country has with missing aboriginal women is in large part due to the marginalization of this culture throughout

The first section is for the mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison for first and second-degree murder and treason. The second section deals with firearms offences. The third section of mandatory minimum sentences address repeat offenders in seven distinct categories, which involve impaired driving and possession of unauthorized weapons (Canada, 2013). The last category of MMS in Canada deals with hybrid offences. These were implemented in the Canadian legislation in 1995. If an offender commits a crime that has been determined to result in a mandatory minimum sentence within the Canadian Legislation, the judge must implement that sentence no matter what the aggravating or mitigating factors are. Due to this sentencing legislation, many innocent people are serving time in prison due to a false conviction and the lack of judicial discretion in their individual case. Even though mandatory minimum sentences offer more costs then rewards, some politicians, community members and victims of crime still support it due to the proposed retributive and deterrent effects. There have been many cases and arguments against mandatory minimum sentences especially due to the fact that it restricts the judge’s discretion during the sentencing process. These will be discussed in more depth throughout this paper.

This essay looks at Indigenous Australians in relation to the institution of ‘Criminal Law’. In this context, criminal law refers to legal processes such as police questioning, investigation and detainment as well as arrest, custody and bail. It also encompasses associated court procedures up to the point of sentencing. The focus will be to first outline the importance of criminal law to Indigenous Australians and then provide a critical analysis of the unique experiences and barriers that this group encounter in accessing criminal law in a positive way. Following this analysis, the development of possible ways to improve Indigenous access to criminal law will be discussed. Particular attention will be given to the way in which Indigenous Australians are affected by the transition of our modern justice system toward broader social justice concepts that incorporate risk management of potential criminal behaviour. From this discussion a conclusion will be drawn as to whether or not Indigenous Australians enjoy equality of criminal law and whether the structural elements of the law itself perpetuate Indigenous injustice and disadvantage.

The exclusion from power and resources due to the unconventional forms of language used by Robyn Kina and the Aboriginal community shows that the “Aboriginal ways of communicating must be taken into account if Aboriginal people are to be treated fairly by the justice system” (Eades, 1996). Robyn Kina was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour due to language discrimination and the inability to communicate with the ‘expected’ or ‘proper’ variation of English. However, after several years, Robyn Kina was contacted by the Queensland Attorney-General and a new appeal was commenced. The basis of the appeal was that she should not have been found guilty of murder because she had acted in self-defence and under provocation (Eades, D,

Wrongful conviction is an issue that has plagued the Canadian Justice System since it came to be. It is an issue that is hard to sort out between horrific crimes and society’s desire to find truth and justice. Incidences of wrongful conviction hit close to home right here in Saskatchewan as well as across the entire nation. Experts claim “each miscarriage of justice, however, deals a blow to society’s confidence in the legal justice system” (Schmalleger, Volk, 2014, 131). Professionals in the criminal justice field such as police, forensic analyst, and prosecutors must all be held accountable for their implications in wrongful convictions. There are several reasons for wrongful convictions such as racial bias, false confessions, jailhouse

How often do we stop to think about the minorities of this country and how they become involved and are treated in the criminal justice system? I surmise; only some of us will concern ourselves with such details. For some like myself; we might work with individuals of the Aboriginal community or have interacted with members of this group whether through school or work. Canada “had an Aboriginal identity in 2011 of 4 % or 1.4 million people” (Kelly-Scott and Smith, 2015). Of this total there is a gross overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in Canada’s Criminal Justice System. This overrepresentation of Aboriginals in the CJS comes as a result of socio economic factors, sentencing reforms, systemic discrimination, education and employment and victimization of Aboriginal women. In partial fulfilment of this course, this paper will address the leading factors which has led to the overrepresentation of this group in the CJS.

The Canadian Criminal Justice System is, for the most part, reflective of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and various Supreme Court of Canada case-law. Everyone who finds themselves on the opposing end of the Criminal Justice System is entitled to certain protections every step of the way, beginning even before the arrest; laws protect us from unreasonable investigative techniques, guarantee certain rights at point of arrest, and provide us with the right to counsel. The bail court departs from the ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ standard in that the crown only needs to prove on a balance of probabilities (Kellough, 1996, p. 175) in order to take away a person’s freedom. It is for this reason I decided to limit the scope of my

A wide-ranging number of concerns were raised relating to the way the justice system deals with violence against Aboriginal women and girls. This included concerns with the police system, the judicial system, and the correctional system.

Racial inequality inside of Canadian prisons is shocking and sometimes unbelievable when taken into account the percentage a minority group takes up in Canada’s overall population versus behind bars. The injustices against Canada’s First Nations people are unfortunately not just historic, as their mistreatment is still evident today. Despite representing only 3% of the population, First Nations account for about 25% of the prison population in provincial/territorial facilities. More specifically, 31% of the female population, and 22% of the male population were First Nations in 2015. More than one in five admissions to men’s prisons are of Aboriginal descent, and one in three in women’s prisons. Although it can be said that more and more attention has been drawn to this issue by citizens and politicians alike recently, First Nations people continue to suffer from poverty, injustice, and a lack of opportunities compared to the average Canadian citizen. About one in four native children live in poverty, leading to criminal activity, and eventually

Bopp and Bopp (2007: 45) argue that the tendency of making use of uniform strategies in restorative justice loses values and often overlooks the heterogeneity of identities as well as the experience of the native people. This means that it is important to acknowledge the differences amongst the aboriginal people. It is evident that the use of retributive model of justice has been used in many of the corrections in Canada. This method has not been effective in reducing crime amongst the aboriginal people.

Indigenous Australians remain largely overrepresented in all aspects of the Criminal Justice system. However, in the sentencing context Australian Courts have been reluctant to accept that Aboriginality per se is a mitigating factor. It is often argued that given the level of disadvantage and the effects of colonisation, Aboriginality remains an important consideration. Indeed, Courts have taken disadvantage arising from Aboriginality into account many times. This has particularly been the case following the findings of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in

Provision [SCRGSP], 2005; Jeffries and Bond, 2012). It is also widely discussed that there is an overrepresentation of Indigenous Australians in the criminal justice system itself (Jeffries and Bond, 2009), representing up to one quarter of prisoners in Australia (Makkai and Payne, 2003; Payne, 2005). This essay will address the current issues that Indigenous Australians face within the criminal justice system, particularly, with courts. The aim of this essay besides addressing these issues will also be to provide suggestions or alternatives that may help resolve the presented issues and improve the experience for Indigenous Australians in court.

Scholarly Essay: Gun Control There has been considerable debate recently in Canada over the issue of gun control. The Canadian parliament enacted the Firearms Act to enforce gun control by requiring gun owners to register their firearms. Just recently, the government of Alberta lead in a charge, including five other provinces and numerous pro-gun groups, complaining that the law is unconst...

Introduction The understanding of jurisprudence and justice plays an important role in how cases are viewed and prosecuted. The case of Robert Pickton, a Canadian serial killer convicted of the murders of 26 women, raised questions about justice. From the perspective of Natural Law, which emphasizes universal moral principles, Legal Realism, which acknowledges the societal influences on legal outcomes, and my personal understanding of justice, the case can be analyzed on whether it was a just ruling or not. Justice: Plato/Stanford, Cornell & I. The definition of justice has been argued for centuries, by philosophers.

Restorative Justice(RJ) is a process in by which it takes an alternative form from the traditional CJS and aims to prompt resolution with offender, victims and the wider community in a safe setting. RJ looks at crime in terms of violation against the community and individual rather than a violation against the law (Gabbay, 2005). As with the traditional CJS, the voices of the victims and offenders are very minimal and not adequately addressed to a large extent; restorative justice centres its main attention on these parties. Since the adoption of RJ practices, there have been different types of RJ created by various different countries that have also resorted to this practice, such as Family Group Conferencing (NZ and Australia) and Sentencing Circles (Canada) and victim-offender mediation. Since, one of the main stakeholders of these conferences are victims, it is vital that their needs and wants are being heard and met and victim satisfaction is also one of the key restorative values in these conferences, thus it is important know whether their needs are being adequately met. This essay will critically discuss the principle of restorative justice, how restorative justice effectively addresses the concerns of victims using examples illustrated from Canada and New Zealand and the limitations of RJ in certain crime cases in addressing victim concerns. . The concerns will be based on the different proponents of RJ and the overall- satisfaction that arises for victims out