The Advocate

Lawyers, here's a fun game: Next time your kids ask you for something, say, "I'll take that under advisement."

What are the chances that, while seemingly taking notes during counsel's submissions, judges are actually just doodling caricatures of counsel?

Everyone's raving about NASA's Mars landing. Fair enough. But how about the fact that I fully landed a technically complex "share screen" manoeuvre in court today?

After committing one of the "biggest blunders in banking history", a U.S. District Court judge ruled that Citibank cannot recover the almost half a billion dollars it accidentally wired to Revlon's lenders. Whoops! https://www.ctvnews.ca//citibank-can-t-get-back-us-500-mil

New BCPC notices: https://www.provincialcourt.bc.ca//NP%2019%20COVID-19%20Su; https://www.provincialcourt.bc.ca//NP%2022%20Resuming%20In

Great piece from the CBC about Emery Barnes, the first Black Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia https://www.cbc.ca//emery-barnes-b-c-black-mla-racism-1.59

New BCSC notice re: Abbotsford courthouse https://www.bccourts.ca//Notice_%20Abbotsford_Law_Courts_c

New announcement from the BCCA: APPEAL HEARINGS TO PROCEED BY VIDEOCONFERENCE Effective immediately and until further notice, all appeal hearings will be heard via Zoom unless otherwise directed. The Chief Justice of British Columbia makes this direction in response to the recent BC public health order aimed at minimizing travel and social contact and encouraging people to work from home where possible. Parties must continue to follow all other directions set out in the var...ious Public Notices of the Court of Appeal. Please complete the Court Proceedings Form at least seven days before the hearing date with an indication of videoconference as the preferred mode of hearing until further notice. Parties who have already scheduled an in person hearing will be contacted by the registry. https://www.bccourts.ca/Court_of_Appeal/

The November issue of the Advocate is now online! https://the-advocate.ca/emag/issues/2020/november/

New notices from the BCPC, BCSC, and BCCA: https://www.provincialcourt.bc.ca//NP%2022%20Resuming%20In, https://www.bccourts.ca//COVID-19_Notice_No.27_In_Court_Me, https://www.bccourts.ca//Notice_to_Public_re_Response_to_C, https://www.provincialcourt.bc.ca//Announcement-06-11-20%2

Minister of Justice David Lametti has ordered a new trial for Tomas Yebes, who was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder nearly 40 years ago. This is a rare event. Under s. 696.3(3)(a)(i) of the Criminal Code, the Minister of Justice may order a new trial for a person convicted of an offence where the person has exhausted all rights of appeal and there is "a reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred". In Mr. Yebes' case, Mr. Yebes' rights of appeal ended with the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in R. v. Yebes, [1987] 2 S.C.R. 168, a leading case on the test for unreasonable verdict https://www.canada.ca//minister-of-justice-orders-new-tria

In life, we face many difficult decisions. Whether to condemn white supremacy is not one of them.

President Trump announces Judge Amy Coney Barrett as Supreme Court nominee: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/09/26/us/trump-vs-biden

New updates from the BC Provincial Court: https://www.provincialcourt.bc.ca/COVID19

Civility on the bench. On the one hand this sort of relationship should be applauded. On the other hand, it should be expected.

The passings of former Chief Justice Lance Finch and Joseph Gosnell, C.C. are considered and reflected upon in this piece in the Times-Colonist. https://www.timescolonist.com//comment-the-day-the-lieuten

September 21 notice from the BC Supreme Court on the temporary suspension of civil jury trials: https://www.bccourts.ca//COVID-19_Notice_No.41_Amendments_

Catherine Kinahan has been appointed as a judicial justice of the @BCProvCourt to help address a backlog of traffic cases as a result of COVID-19 https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2020AG0061-001821

B.C. voters heading to the polls (or to the mailbox) on October 24 https://www.cbc.ca//bc-horgan-premier-snap-election-1.5732

The Advocate is saddened to learn of the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In a 2015 interview, when asked how she would like to be remembered, Justice Ginsburg responded: "Someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability and to help repair tears in her society, to make things a little better through the use of whatever ability she has. To do something, as my colleague David Souter would say, outside myself." Indeed, that is precisely how Justice Ginsburg will be remembered. Justice Ginsburg dedicated her life to advancing equality, fairness and justice, and her contributions to the law and to society more broadly are immeasurable. Rest in peace, Ruth. We miss you already.

Starting Sept 28, 2020, all civil jury trials in B.C. will be suspended for a year https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2020AG0059-001775

The Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court has upheld the province's travel ban, which prohibits non-residents from crossing the border at will https://www-cbc-ca.cdn.ampproject.org//www.c/amp/1.5727549

The New Westminster courthouse will open again tomorrow (September 17): https://www.provincialcourt.bc.ca//Announcement-16-09-20%2 and https://www.bccourts.ca/supreme_court/)

Revised COVID notice from the BC Provincial Court: https://www.provincialcourt.bc.ca//NP%2022%20Resuming%20In

Tomorrow (September 16), the New Westminster courthouse will be closed due to the impact on air quality caused by the fire at the New Westminster pier (https://www.bccourts.ca/supreme_court/ and https://www.provincialcourt.bc.ca//Announcement-15-09-20%2)