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N.B. prosecutors say recent sexual assault stay is evidence of resource shortage
New Brunswick’s justice system is reaching a crisis point. Urgent calls have been made to address the provincial criminal justice system after a decision was made to stay a sexual assault case due to the lack of prosecutors. According to the New Brunswick Crown Prosecutors Association, the judge’s decision, made in Moncton last Friday, is directly linked to the shortage of resources.
[ ...More ]Publication date : 2023-03-01
Delays prompt judge to stay charges against man accused of sexual assault
Charges were stayed in Moncton provincial court Friday against a man accused of sexual assault, with the judge agreeing with the defence that the accused had waited too long to be tried. Meanwhile, New Brunswick Crown Prosecutors Association, representing Crown attorneys, saying staffing shortages in their ranks are at crisis levels.
[ ...More ]Publication date : 2023-02-24
Government lawyers in B.C. fight for right to form their own union following newly tabled bill
The B.C. Government Lawyers Association (BCGLA) is speaking out against the newly tabled Bill 5, which will allow government lawyers interested in unionizing to join the Professional Employees Association (PEA) for government-licensed professionals, but does not allow them to form their own union.
[ ...More ]Publication date : 2023-02-11
B.C. government lawyers fight for right to unionize on their own terms
Lawyers who work for the B.C. government writing legislation, providing legal advice and representing government in civil litigation want the right to join a union of their choice. The B.C. Government Lawyers Association said that 75 per cent of the government’s 350 lawyers had signed cards asking that the association be allowed to represent them as its proposed new union.
[ ...More ]Publication date : 2022-11-21
Labour officials, N.S. government to meet to discuss Bill 148
Representatives with organized labour and the Nova Scotia government will meet to discuss how to address outstanding issues with a contentious piece of legislation used to impose wage restraint. Bill 148, passed by the former Liberal government to impose wage patterns and remove a lump-sum retirement benefit known as the long-service award, continues to be tied up in court.
[ ...More ]Publication date : 2022-06-17
Alberta: Prioritizing high-quality prosecution services
Alberta’s government has approved market adjustments for Alberta’s Crown prosecutors as part of prioritizing high-quality prosecutions. Alberta’s Crown prosecutors will receive market adjustments to make their pay competitive with other provinces and the federal prosecution service. Now, Alberta will be able to attract new prosecutors and keep experienced prosecutors, which is critical to an effective criminal justice system.
[ ...More ]Publication date : 2022-05-02
Judgment, Identity, and Independence
Cassandra Burke Robertson*
Whenever a new corporate or governmental scandal erupts, onlookers ask “Where were the lawyers?” Why would attorneys not have advised their clients of the risks posed by conduct that, from an outsider’s perspective, appears indefensible? When numerous red flags have gone unheeded, people often conclude that the lawyers’ failure to sound the alarm must be caused by greed, incompetence, or both. A few scholars have suggested that unconscious cognitive bias may better explain such lapses in judgment, but they have not explained why particular situations are more likely than others to encourage such bias. This article seeks to fill that gap. Drawing on research from behavioral and social psychology, it suggests that lawyers’ apparent lapses in judgment may be caused by cognitive biases arising from partisan kinship between lawyer and client. The article uses identity theory to distinguish particular situations in which attorney judgment is likely to be compromised, and it recommends strategies to enhance attorney independence and minimize judgment errors.
