The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any.
-- Alice Walker
That's the end of the introduction to this page. Here, under the heading "Lessons from Criminal Case-Law" and drop down menu at the top left on the web page is where Forstner Law in Oshawa, will list various concepts and ideas from criminal case law. And you can also access and read the whole case that is up for discussion in each particular entry. Case law is where lawyer's go to get interpretations of the law that are new or different in some respect from other interpretations. We also go to cases to find "the tests" that we need to meet in a given case. Written law, like in the Criminal Code of Canada, only goes so far. Sometimes a statute seems quite clear, but it is not. Indeed, a particular provision only really means what courts have interpreted it to mean.
In the topics listed in the drop-down menu, you will find many concepts that might interest you. They include, in R v Poirier, the rights that govern how long the police can hold you before bringing you before a judicial officer (and what trouble they might get in for not adhering to these rules). Other topics include the difference between reasonable suspicion and mere speculation (R v McGuffie), used to justify detention; what constitutes Crown abuse of power when dealing with an accused and his lawyer (R v Delchev), and several others.
From time to time, Forstner Law will add to this list, and replace some topics that are have been on it for a while. The goal is to introduce our clients to the idea that advocacy is not just something lawyers do. You, the client, have a tremendous ability to help yourself, and ease your stress, by learning about concepts in the law, and particular situations that might remind you of things you've been through. Nobody will ever know the nitty-gritty of your case like you. So, if you feel that reading some of the case-law will help you to gain insight into your own situation, read away. At Forstner Law - Legal advice in Oshawa,- criminal law advocacy, includes helping our clients to develop self-advocacy skills.
Lawrence Forstner
Forstner Law
Teaching Self-Advocacy in Oshawa
I became a lawyer for many reasons, but the catalyst was a workplace situation I found myself in. Things got nasty before I even realized what was going on. So I began to feel I needed help. But I didn't really know what the exact problem was. I did not have enough insight into the situation to even know where I might turn.
That began my journey of self-education. I began by searching the internet with search terms that essentially described what I was going through. Lo and behold, the results showed that many people had experienced the same sorts of things I was going through. I had no idea until then that I was not alone with my nagging sense that I was being treated very unfairly.
Over the next year, I researched internal and external complaint mechanisms, human rights, and, ultimately, the foundations of administrative law. Administrative law governs a whole host of situations that courts don't regularly become involved in - like human rights tribunals, landlord-tenant complaint mechanisms, and yes, workplace complaints and grievances.
The two principles from administrative law that jumped out at me again and again, mostly because they were being ignored by the various levels of bureaucracy I was complaining to, were that in every situation governed my administrative law, the decision maker must "hear the other side," and that no body or individual accused of bad behaviour (usually referred to as the Respondent) can sit in judgement of their own case.
Those simple concepts took me a long way in resolving my situation to my satisfaction. And the whole experience, aside from inevitably propelling me to continue on to law school, taught me something that I later found encapsulated in the following quotation:
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Lawrence@ForstnerLaw.ca
Lawrence Forstner, Criminal Lawyer in Oshawa, Expert Qualifications and Specialized Training:
Former Crown Attorney; Former Probation & Parole Officer; Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA), Sex Offender Risk Assessment, Strategic Initiatives in Community Supervision (STICS), Sex Offender Relapse Prevention, Substance Use / Anger Management Group Leader/ Trainer. ( https://ca.linkedin.com/in/forstnerlaw )
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Please consult a lawyer for advice about your individual situation. This site and its information is not legal advice, nor is it meant to be. Feel free to get in touch by electronic mail, letters, or phone calls. Contacting us does not create a solicitor-client relationship. Until a solicitor-client relationship is established, please withhold from sending any confidential information to us.
Office Locations: Forstner Law has a virtual office approach for client consultation. Zoom has become the norm in Courts since the advent of Covid. Forstner Law maintains administrative offices in Ajax. This information is publicly available through the Law Society of Ontario.
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