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Article Published by Canada Law Book in the Criminal Law Quarterly, Vol. 47, pg. 41 Author: Austin Cooper, Q.C[1] About 45 years ago a man came into a lawyer’s office and retained him to defend him on a charge of capital murder. It was the middle of the night. The lawyer (who later became a judge)[…]

Article published in Edward L. Greenspan, Q.C. ed., Counsel for the Defence (Toronto: Irwin Law, 2005) Author: Austin Cooper, Q.C. Between January 11 and March 22, 1981, four infants who were patients in the cardiac ward at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto died as a result of the deliberate administration of overdoses of a[…]

Paper Presented at Federation of Law Societies National Criminal Law Program Victoria, British Columbia July, 2009, SECTION 6.2 Author: Mark J. Sandler Introduction It is well recognized that inaccurate eyewitness identification evidence is a systemic cause – perhaps the leading cause – of wrongful convictions. Eyewitnesses frequently “get it wrong.” This reflects not only the inherent[…]

Paper Presented at Federation of Law Societies National Criminal Law Program Edmonton, Alberta July, 2007 – SECTION 17.1 Author: Mark J. Sandler It is beyond dispute that a lawyer has a duty of confidentiality to the client. However, the breadth of the duty, and exceptions to it, are more contentious. This paper briefly examines the parameters[…]

Paper Presented At Federation of Law Societies National Criminal Law Program Victoria, British Columbia, July, 2009 Author: Mark J. Sandler Point-Counterpoint: Should Experts Testify As Independent Sources of Information, Not as Witnesses on Behalf of the Party Who Calls Them? FOR THE AFFIRMATIVE: YES, THEY SHOULD The recent Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology in Ontario (“the Inquiry”)[…]