CRIM 135 September-December 2013

Introduction to Canadian Law and Legal Institutions***

This course is a general introduction to the fundamental and competing principles of jurisprudence and to the basic legal institutions of Canada. It will prepare students for those law and law related courses offered within the School of Criminology and will consider the history of Canadian Law, the development of the Canadian Constitution, the system of Canadian courts, the roles and responsibilities of members of the legal profession, the challenges faced within the legal profession and general issues related to the legal system in Canada. The Course will also examine the process of law reform in Canada. In addition, the course will consider the nature of legal reasoning, the doctrine of precedent, principles of statutory interpretation, and will also introduce you to the fields of contract law, tort law, criminal law, administrative law, intellectual property law and family law. Despite the fact that this course is taught within the criminology department, not all law is "criminal law" and not all law involves going to court or envisioning that you're in an episode of "Suits". Part of this course will help to wean you off any such predisposition about law and our legal system. Keeping with my teaching in this course in 2012, we may also "turn on a dime" within the course if there is an important legal decision or legal issue that presents itself during the term. For that reason, I would encourage students to regularly read authoritative newspapers (the Globe and Mail, the Vancouver Sun, the New York Times etc.) to stay abreast of these issues, particularly the Globe. It's easy to get electronically and when you run out of your 10 free articles, switch browsers. Also keeping with the "turning on a dime" theme, I may have one or two guest lecturers at some point in the term, to be announced, and I may "prioritize" the readings for the following week, indicating that one isn't quite as important as another. To that end, I may update the syllabus but if I'm going to add something, I'll take something off. Certainly, we learn from reading, but we also learned from discussion. Although you'll have ample opportunity in the tutorials to discuss the issues, I don't mind questions in class. And when I'm in the mood, I may get a bit Socratic on you. If you don't know what that means, go watch The Paper Chase.

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If you attend class and do the readings, (particularly the cases), and take great notes from my lectures, you'll do well in the class. Textbook: Boyd, Neil. CANADIAN LAW An Introduction. (5TH) Nelson (Sage, Delmar, Brooks/Cole, Cengage, Houghton Mifflin) Textbook available for purchase from the SFU Burnaby Bookstore Prerequisites: None. COURSE OBJECTIVES: 1. To lay the foundation for students to gain maximum benefit from law and lawrelated courses offered within the School of Criminology. 2. To emphasize those aspects of Canadian law and legal institutions that will be of particular significance to criminology students. 3. To familiarize students with fundamental principles of jurisprudence and the Rule of Law. 4. To identify the basic legal institutions in Canada. 5. To introduce the concept of law as a process of authoritative and controlling decision-making and to enable the student to identify this process in operation at various levels of the legislative, judicial, and administrative processes. 6. To develop an understanding of the broad social, historic, economic, and political contexts within which Canadian law and legal institutions have developed. 7. To introduce students to the legal profession(s) in Canada and how the legal profession is governed. 8. To introduce students to distinct areas of law which they otherwise wouldn't have been exposed to.

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Course Requirements: Percentage Tutorial Participation and Assignment

(Participation 10%. Courtroom Assignment 10%)

20% 40% 40%

Mid term Final

ATTENTION: STUDENTS WITH A DISABILITY: Please contact the Centre for Students with Disabilities, (MBC 1250 or Phone 778-782-3112) if you need or require assistance, not your individual instructors.
Students are reminded that attendance in the first week of classes is important. However, there are no tutorials in the first week. Assignments not submitted to the Professor/T.A. during class/office hours must be placed in the security box behind the General Office (ASSC 10125), or submitted as per Professors instructions for courses taking place at Surrey Campus. The assignment dropoff box is emptied Monday to Friday at 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. only and the contents are date stamped accordingly. No other departments date stamp will apply (e.g. Library/Campus Security) and the School of Criminology is not responsible for assignments submitted any other way (e.g. slid under office doors). The University does NOT accept assignments by fax. A student must complete ALL aspects of a course (including assignments, exams, class participation, presentations, chat room components of Distance Education courses and other), otherwise he/she will receive a grade of N. E-mail policy: The School of Criminology STRONGLY DISCOURAGES the use of e-mail in lieu of office hour visits. Criminology advises its instructional staff that they are NOT required to respond to student e-mails and that students wishing to confer with them should do so in person during scheduled meeting times. The University has formal policies regarding intellectual dishonesty and grade appeals which may be obtained from the General Office of the School of Criminology. UNIVERSITY POLICY FORBIDS FINAL EXAMINATIONS WHILE CLASSES ARE STILL IN SESSION.

Academic Honesty
Academic honesty is central to maintaining the high standard of academic excellence to which Simon Fraser University is dedicated. The Department of Biological Sciences is therefore committed to promoting and maintaining integrity as it relates to all aspects of teaching, student learning, and evaluation. To ensure that evaluations of students fairly reflect their ability and effort, we endorse the guidelines laid out by the Senate Committee on Academic Integrity in Student Learning and Evaluation (SCAISLE). These guidelines outline the need to promote awareness of what constitutes academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, and to clearly establish the consequences for dishonest behaviour.

Resources for students

For guidance about Academic Honesty in general, students should see the Code of Academic Honesty in Policy T10.02 and in the General Regulations of the Simon Fraser University undergraduate Studies Calendar. Students are also encouraged to explore resources available at the Simon Fraser Academic Integrity homepage and the Learning Commons, and conduct the plagiarism 2013 Fall 135
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tutorial provided by the Library.

Links: SFU Policies on Academic Honesty and Student Conduct Simon Fraser Academic Integrity homepage Learning Commons Library plagiarism tutorial Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of other peoples ideas or work.
Plagiarism may be unintentional and can be avoided through careful work habits and familiarity with academic conventions. But whether intentional or unintentional, plagiarism is recognized as a serious academic offence. The universitys strong stance against plagiarism reflects our shared commitment to intellectual honesty, and the original contributions of each student validate the universitys role as a centre of learning.

Forms of plagiarism
1. Misrepresenting someone elses work as ones own: e.g. copying another students paper or an article form a journal or website; buying an essay from a term-paper mill. Patchwriting: writing a paper by simply patching together blocks of text, perhaps with slight modification, taken from one or more sources Paraphrasing or summarizing information from a source without citation Quoting material without proper use of quotation marks (even if otherwise cited correctly). Changing, distorting or misrepresenting quoted material. If a source is quoted, it should be quoted word for word and cited. Translating a work from one language to another without citation.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Here is some advice on how to avoid plagiarism:

1. 2. As you read source material, think carefully about what you are reading and note which material is relevant to your paper. Take notes in your own words, preferably in point form rather than in complete sentences. Dont be intimidated by the writing of your sources. Dont think that you cannot explain their ideas clearly in your own words. Think about what you are reading while you are making the notes. Make
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3.

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sure you understand what you are reading and what you are writing. You cant explain complex ideas or information in your own words if you dont clearly understand what youre trying to say. 4. Quotations should be used sparingly. In most cases, you should explain the ideas or information you obtained from a source in your own words. However, if you do copy the authors words, make sure that you use quotation marks and cite your source. Define or rephrase any terminology that would not be familiar to a fellow student in your course.

5.

Other forms of academic dishonesty

1. Cheating on an exam. This includes the use of books, notes, and electronic aids not approved by an instructor in closed book exams or unauthorized sharing of books and notes during a closed book exam. Having a celphone/Ipad/laptop anywhere near you during an exam. I failed someone in 2012 for that. Using or attempting to use other students work on assignments or answers during examinations. Failing to take reasonable measures to prevent others from copying your work or using your answers during an exam. Submitting the same essay, presentation or assignment for more than one course without prior approval. Preventing fair access to library resources, e.g., by hiding books or by signing out short-term reserve materials and keeping them overdue when they are needed by other students. Lying about reasons for missing an exam, handing in an assignment late, etc.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

7.

English The Student Learning Commons would like to make sure that you are aware of and can confidently refer students to the specific services we provide for EAL students. The services are described on the web site at http://learningcommons.sfu.ca/services/eal and include an English conversation group, individual conversation partners, and English learning plans. The conversation partners program is wildly popular and currently has a waiting list 2013 Fall 135
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but the other services have available spaces. In particular, if you are working with students who are really challenged due to their level of English, please direct them to the English learning plans http://learningcommons.sfu.ca/services/eal/undergraduates. And of course, our core writing and learning services are also useful for EAL students! See http://learningcommons.sfu.ca/ Mobile phones, class policy etc. Turn all cels off at beginning of class. If your cel rings beeps, roars or plays a tune, I may ask you to leave or answer it for you, depending on my mood. No texting in class, even if its about me. Its not polite. Save it for later. Take notes on your laptops, but if any of you are surfing or on Facebook while Im lecturing, and I see, I may ask you to leave. Save it for later. No headphones on while Im lecturing please. And although everyone is welcome to drink coffee/tea/water/soft-drinks during the lecture, please dont eat your lunch or your dinner while the lecture is on. It's a bit distracting and I might require you to share it. Although many of you are fresh out of high school, this isnt high school anymore. University is the place where you learn to be an adult. I have the right to ask anyone to leave the class if they are disruptive, in my opinion.

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2013 SYLLABUS
DESCRIPTION

(****subject to minor changes)

WEEK 1 SEPTEMBER 3
WHIRLWIND TOUR OF CRIM 135 Introduction to the Course- No Readings expected ahead of class. Watch The Paper Chase on your Laptop before the next class.

WEEK 2: SEPTEMBER 10
Chapters 1 and 2, Boyd, 5th Edition Self-Governance as a Necessary Condition of Constitutionally Mandated Lawyer Independence in British Columbia, a speech by Gordon Turriff, QC. http://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/docs/publications/reports/turriff-speech.pdf AND LISTEN ON PODCAST http://www.bccls.net/audio/GordonTurriff.mp3 READ THIS. ITS NOT BRAIN SURGERY. http://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/page.cfm?cid=2189&t=About-the-Profession http://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/page.cfm?cid=25&t=Complaints http://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/page.cfm?cid=188&t=Unauthorized-Practice http://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/page.cfm?cid=1760&t=Current-citations-and-hearings Resources http://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/page.cfm?cid=11&t=Legal-Information-and-Resources Online Articles by Soper, Robertson, Sullivan, Rose and Kindregan Jr. Soper, In Defence of Classical Natural Law in Legal Theory: Why Unjust Law Is No Law at All Robertson, Telling the Laws Two Stories Sullivan, Rape, Prostitution and Consent

WEEKS 3 AND 4: SEPT 17 AND 24

Chapter 3, Boyd, 5th Edition Online articles, R. v. Lachapelle, Austin v. Goerz and Rizzo and Rizzo. Rose, Studying the Past: The Nature and Development of Legal History as an Academic Discipline Kindregan, Jr., Same-Sex Marriage: The Cultural Wars and the Lessons of Legal History R. v. Lachapelle Austin v. Goerz Rizzo & Rizzo Shoes Ltd. (Re)

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2013 SYLLABUS
WEEKS 5 AND 6: OCT 1 AND 8
Chapter 4, Boyd, 5th Edition Online articles, R. v. McCrimmon, Canada v. Khadr, Hogg et al. R. v. McCrimmon Canada (Prime Minister) v. Khadr

(****subject to minor changes)

Hogg, Bushell Thornton, and Wright, Charter Dialogue Revisitedor Much Ado about Metaphors

WEEK 7: OCT 15 MID TERM EXAM

IN CLASS

WEEK 8 and 9 OCT 22 and OCT 29

Chapters 5 and 6, Boyd, 5th Edition Online articles, Latimer et al., Roberts and Weathered, Kay and Gorman. Latimer, Dowden, and Muise, The Effectiveness of Restorative Justice Practices: A Meta Analysis Roberts and Weathered, Assisting the Factually Innocent: The Contradictions and Compatibility of Innocence Projects and the Criminal Cases Review Commission Kay and Gorman, Women in the Legal Profession Chapter 7, Boyd, 5th Edition Online articles, Bradley v. Bath, Hill v. Hamilton Wentworth, E.B. v. Order of the Oblates Bradley v. Bath Hill v. Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Police Services Board E.B. v. Order of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in the Province of British Columbia

WEEK 10: NOV 5

Chapter 8, Boyd, 5th Edition Online articles, Asne v. Asne and Bain v. Bain 7.1 Aspe v. Aspe 7.2 Bain v. Bain

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2013 SYLLABUS
Week 11: NOV 12

(****subject to minor changes)

COURTROOM OBSERVATION and assignment . No class

WEEK 12: NOV 19

Chapter 9, Boyd, 5th Edition Online articles, Canada v. Khosa, Singh v. University of B.C. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) v. Khosa Singh v. University of British Columbia

WEEK 13: NOV 26 Wind up and how to write the exam

Again, it's a great idea to go to class because I do have the right to modify this as circumstances change.

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