On March 10, 2004, six Surrey police officers raided the home of Van Dung Cao. The foray into Cao's home turned up an amazing 704 marijuana plants. Cao was charged with producing marijuana and possession for the purpose of trafficking. Case closed, right? Well, not according to BC Supreme Court Justice Catherine Bruce. The judge ruled all of the evidence inadmissible and dismissed the entire case, saying that the police officers at the scene failed to knock loud enough. That's right. Apparently, while the police were busy busting a major grow operation, they didn't significantly announce their presence and that warrants a complete case discharge. [continues 441 words]
VANCOUVER - The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal has ruled that a window contractor discriminated against an employee because his physical disability allowed him to smoke medical marijuana. The company has been told to pay $500 for injury to the man's dignity, feelings and self-respect. Greg Wilson's claim against Transparent Glazing Systems alleged he was fired after a superintendent's letter sent to company management said Mr. Wilson's medication seemed to impair his ability to do the job. [continues 385 words]
Estimates are that North Carolina prisons will be over capacity through 2017. New approaches, not new cells, are needed It may not be pleasant to think about, but prisons are a service that the state simply has to provide. The public needs to be protected, after all, and criminals need to be punished -- even though not every crime should lead inexorably to the clink. A sound corrections policy will accomplish these goals while also encouraging the rehabilitation of criminals, when possible, so they become productive members of society once they're released. State services also have to be cost-effective. Tossing people in prison without careful consideration as to who should be there, and for how long, fails more than inmates. It fails their families. And it fails taxpayers, who pay the hefty tab for feeding, clothing and housing a burgeoning prison population. [continues 420 words]
A PREGNANT heroin addict asked a court to put her behind bars yesterday in a bid to protect her unborn baby. Seven-month pregnant Rachel Truman, 24, of Woodlands Road, Newton Abbot asked for a chance to turn her life around. Magistrates sitting at Torquay heard Truman hopes to kick her heroin habit in prison and is 'desperate' to keep her unborn child and give them a future together. She pleaded guilty to burglary and failing to answer bail at an earlier hearing. [continues 444 words]
It's no secret that pot is one of B.C.'s biggest cash crops, and to many foreigners it's fast becoming one of our province's primo attractions. Yet it's also a source of a great deal of ongoing crime and controversy, from grow-ops to police raids. Bud is an inescapable part of our culture, but the question remains, should it be legal? Pot Prohibition is the true root of many social ills Pro By Liam Britten [continues 1419 words]
Gardner Lindzey, a psychologist, editor and former president of the American Psychological Association who helped build a national framework to encourage scholarly exchanges and collaborations in the social sciences, died Feb. 4 in Palo Alto. He was 87. Mr. Lindzey's death was confirmed by his family. Through his writings and his contributions to blue-ribbon committees, Mr. Lindzey provided an influential voice for psychologists and behavioral scientists. From 1975 to 1989, he was director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, which brings together scholars from various disciplines for independent studies and cross-disciplinary endeavors. [continues 428 words]
A recent Saskatchewan trial court decision, which found a drug dealer civilly liable for injuries suffered by a young woman who overdosed on crystal methamphetamine he provided, brings to mind the old anecdote "bad facts make bad law." Or, even better, "bad facts make worse precedents." The plaintiff, Sandra Bergen, 23, and her family sued Clinton Davey after a 2004 crystal-meth-fuelled heart attack left her in a coma for 11 days, with a lasting heart condition. A sympathetic plaintiff (and addict), Bergen said she was using at the time to calm anxious feelings about her testimony as a victim in an upcoming sexual assault trial. [continues 694 words]
"Simply baseless and groundless." That's how Attorney General Chris Bentley reacted last week to suggestions the Crown deliberately fumbled the prosecution of six Toronto cops accused of corruption. The theory is they threw the case against the Central Field Command drug officers to dodge the ugly optics of a lengthy trial. Then what did happen? All we really know is that nearly 10 years after the investigation began, highly respected Superior Court Justice Ian Nordheimer stayed the charges, citing the "glacial" progress of the prosecution. He found the Crown violated the officers' right to be tried in a timely fashion due mainly to delays arising from staggering disclosure issues. [continues 378 words]
