-“Law teaches you to think.”

-There are different types of lawyers: defense, prosecution, corporate, criminal, family law, RCMP, military (etc).

-lawyers help people

-lawyers can be their own boss

-To be a lawyer you need:

                -law school (3 years)

                -undergrad (4 years) or Masters (5-6 years)

                -be “called to the Bar”

                -you have to be able to read thousands of pages

                -Good grades (A’s)

-Youth don’t get the same type of criminal record as adults, however, their record stays on file for courts, Police, & border patrols.

-With a law degree, you can also be a teacher, Prof., in-house council (eg. working in a government office giving legal interpretation), or politician.

-Night Court is a thing 

-If you are a defense lawyer, sometimes, you have to defend someone who is guilty. They may plead guilty or choose not to tell you that they are guilty.

-Most lawyers and judges in Ontario believe that Ontario has the best legal system in the world.
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-Crown disclosure (The Prosecution has to tell the Defense what evidence they have before the trial.
-Family Law: Most common is divorce. Some people aren’t rational, some will spend $10,000 to save $1,500 ( adultery is never used as a defense because it is irrelevant to the court; failure to pay child support is not a valid reason to deny "access") (Custody: "shared" "joint" "Full" "No mention") 

-Almost all cases involve mental health issues. 

-GMAIL e-mails are never really deleted, they are all kept by Google for at least 7 years and can be used in a court if a lawyer asks.

-Crime rates are related to the state of the economy

-Good Law film: “From the Hip” and "A Few Good Men" which we will be watching shortly 

-Slander= spoken

-Liable= written

1. Order/Contempt/Recess/allowing exhibits/summary & verdict/sentence
2. “You’ve already asked that question.”
3. “The witness will answer the question.”
4. “The witness does not have to answer the question.”
5. Sustained/Overruled:

Objection: Irrelevant (most common)

(Is the evidence relevant because it tends to show [fact of consequence].

Objection: Prejudice

(The danger asserted does not substantially outweigh the probative value of the evidence).

Objection: Impermissible Propensity Evidence. (almost never happens in real life)

Objection: Lack of Personal Knowledge

Objection: Speculation

Objection: Hearsay

(Can’t be verified in any way/The statement is not offered for the truth of the matter asserted, but for another purpose. (And a lot of others!)

Objections: Improper Characterization

(Argue that this is your witness' opinion based on observations, not a real characterization.)

Objection: Leading Question (Allowed in cross examination only)

Objections: Facts not in Evidence

-Municipal police have specialized units (eg. "guns and gangs") 

-Sketch artists: composite sketch is not evidence

                -it is a tool

-RCMP provide “secret service” for PMO

-Why do ppl break the law? 1. Drugs/alcohol 2. Poor decisions 3. Mental health problems 4. Rare= psychopaths/sociopaths

-To be a Police Officer -> attend info session/test/application/ploy-graph test/ college or university/fit. You can major in criminology but it is not necessary/ be weary, be wise in social media!

-Canada doesn’t negotiate with terrorists.

-Strict interview process for becoming a judge

-A judge:

                1. Sentences (most important/most difficult) (types: reformatory v. penitentiary  (#) v. restitution ($)

                2. Keeps order in the court

                3. Warrants (but usually the Justice of the Peace) (Judge can only say “Yes” or “No” to a Police warrant request (i.e., no asking questions in chambers)

                4. Preliminary trials

                5. Decides what evidence is admissible

-A judge has a report given to them before a trial but it only has the lawyers’ names, charge, grounds for charges. The report is given 24 hours in advance.

-A judge can’t pre-judge a person, therefore, they are not to know if the person has a criminal record.

-Every piece of evidence is subject to rules of evidence.

-typically, there is an 13 month wait for a trial (“there are a lot of ‘junk’ trials.”)

-public perception that system is lenient but this is because of “plea bargains.” These actually rarely lessen a sentence.

-“Beyond a reasonable doubt”= determining guilty or not guilty is easy. If you are not convinced, that’s a reasonable doubt.

-A judge doesn’t judge people’s morals. Sometimes, they must acquit someone who is guilty. If Crown doesn’t have evidence the case must be dismissed.

-Most common crime is assault. Usually committed by males. A lot more women being charged with domestic assault nowadays (usually alcohol-related). Mandatory anger mangement classes run 7 days a week. 

-A Judge can sentence 6-12 months of probation/treatment and wait and see if the person needs to be dismissed on the basis of “time-served” or to be put in prison (eg. if they “use” in rehab (young people almost never succeed at treatment sentences)).

-Judges know from their training that prolonged marijuana use can lead to mental health disorders.