More than just a neutral summary of cases and legislation, The
Practitioner’s Criminal Code 2010 is filled with Alan Gold’s
insight on Canadian criminal law and procedure, noteworthy comments about
interesting cases, and a clearer indication of contentious issues and possible
arguments.
Features:
- Analysis, not just annotations – A brief
recitation of the ratio of a case is helpful, but practitioners need to have
more in the courtroom. They need to understand the significance of a case
within the multiple contexts of the section, of related provisions and of
related cases. That often means providing much more than a collection of
abstracts – it means providing a thoughtful body of informed
analysis.
- Synthesis, not just summaries – Statutory
interpretation isn’t built on digests, it’s constructed on a body of
judicial thought. Judges don’t make criminal rulings in a vacuum –
their rulings reflect a synthesis of the relevant principles of law. Criminal
lawyers arguing in front of those judges don’t need a bare laundry list of
50 loosely connected cases, but they do need an understanding of how those
cases fit together.
- Case commentaries, not just case law – As one of
Canada’s most accomplished criminal lawyers, Alan D. Gold has something
worthwhile to say about interpreting and applying the Criminal Code. The result
is real, value-added commentary on the cases, not a mechanical and generic
abstract of the words of the judgment.
- The point of the cases, not just the cases on point
– It’s one thing to include a case as relevant, it’s quite
another to explain how it is relevant, and indicate why it’s important for
the practitioner to know about it. The Practitioner’s Criminal Code
goes beyond a description of the cases on point to help criminal lawyers
understand the point of the cases.
- “Cases of Note” rather than “Cases of
Not” – Today’s criminal lawyers are too sophisticated to be
overly impressed with marketing hype about the absolute number of cases in an
annotated Code. That’s because they know that over time, provisions are
amended, rulings are modified and cases become obsolete or marginalized, but
the twin forces of inertia and expediency often allow these cases to accumulate
and needlessly bloat a Code. Not so with The Practitioner’s Criminal
Code, which is designed to ensure that practitioners have access to all the
cases of note, uncluttered by the cases of “not” – not useful,
not applicable, not indicative of the state of the law.
The Practitioner’s Criminal Code 2010 contains:
- Preface
- Table of Contents
- Key to Annotations
- Criminal Code Concordance
- Table of Cases
- Glossary of Terms
- Criminal Code Amendments
- Criminal Code (Annotated)
- Constitution Act 1982 - Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms (Annotated)
- Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Annotated)
- Youth Criminal Justice Act (Annotated)
- Canada Evidence Act (Annotated)
- DNA Identification Act
- Firearms Act
- Extradition Act
- Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act
- Interpretation Act
- Index
The 2010 edition is updated and enhanced with a careful review
of all “Cases of Note”, keeping only cases that continue to be of
note and adding insights on the latest noteworthy developments. Highlights of
the 2010 Edition include:
- New Offence Chart
- Full text of the Criminal Records Act
- Full text of the pre-Bill C-2 drinking and driving provisions
(Criminal Code, ss. 254-261)
- In-depth discussion of recent key cases such as:
- R. v. Canadian Broadcasting Corp. [2008] O.J. No. 1966,
where the Ontario Court of Appeal considered in detail the proper procedure
regarding sealing order challenges
- R. v. Mahalingan [2008] S.C.J. No. 64, where the Supreme
Court of Canada decided that the accused claiming issue estoppel should bear
the burden of showing that a particular issue was decided in his or her favour
in a previous proceeding, and that the accused’s subsequent acquittal for
attempting to obstruct justice did not retroactively render inadmissible trial
evidence of the same incident which had been admitted as consciousness of
guilt
- R. v. Thain [2009] O.J. No. 1022, where an accused
successfully appealed from a conviction for using a computer to communicate
with a child for the purpose of facilitating the commission of an offence
contrary to s. 172.1(1)(c) of the Criminal Code
- Discussion of recent issues of interest such as:
- When can defence counsel refer to “wrongful
convictions” in jury address?
- The retrospectivity of Bill C-2 Amendments
- Recent cases decided under the Post-Bill C-2 drinking and
driving provisions
- Full text of Bill C-14, An Act to amend the Criminal Code
(organized crime and protection of justice system participants), which received
Royal Assent on June 23, 2009 (S.C. 2009, c. 22). The Bill essentially:
- adds sentencing provisions for murder so that any murder
committed in connection with a criminal organization is first degree murder,
regardless of whether it is planned and deliberate;
- creates offences of intentionally discharging a firearm
while being reckless about endangering the life or safety of another person, of
assaulting a peace officer with a weapon or causing bodily harm and of
aggravated assault of a peace officer
- extends the duration of a recognizance to up to two years
for a person who it is suspected will commit a criminal organization offence, a
terrorism offence or an intimidation offence under section 423.1 if they were
previously convicted of such an offence, and clarify that the recognizance may
include conditions such as electronic monitoring, participation in a treatment
program and a requirement to remain in a specified geographic area.
So named because it is driven by the real needs of the
criminal lawyer rather than defined by the limitations of existing Codes,
The Practitioner’s Criminal Code 2010 marks an evolutionary advance
in format and a revolutionary advance in functionality.
Alan D. Gold is
one of Canada’s leading and most successful criminal lawyers. He has
appeared as counsel in many leading criminal cases. He is the author of
Quicklaw’s well-regarded Alan D. Gold’s Criminal Law
NetLetter, and a certified Specialist in Criminal Litigation.
Also
available:
Other editions of the Criminal
Code
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