International Law

Manslaughter Charges likely against Jackson?s Doctor

Posted on August 25, 2009
According to L.A. 's coroner, pop star Michael Jackson died from a lethal dose of the powerful anesthetic propofol given in a cocktail of drugs.The findings, contained in court documents seeking a warrant to search Dr. Murray's home and offices in Houston, have lead authorities to suspect Dr...

The Blackberry Bar

Posted on August 25, 2009
Lawyers Weekly writer Milton Kiang takes a look at the relationships between lawyers and our smartphones, and finds attitudes all over the map:Lang Michener LLP banking partner Eric Friedman says matter-of-factly: ?Clients have an expectation that you?ll always be in touch with the office...

U.S. Health Care Debate: A Test of Democratic Party's Ability to Govern

Posted on August 25, 2009
NY Times' Ross Douthat gets it right:In reality, the health care wrestling match is less a test of Mr. Obama?s political genius than it is a test of the Democratic Party?s ability to govern. This is not the Reagan era, when power in Washington was divided, and every important vote required the president to leverage his popularity to build trans-party coalitions...

Ontario's Open Adoption Registry: An Update

Posted on August 25, 2009
Reader C.H. provides the following update on the opening of Ontario's adoption records:Some people I know have now received their identifying information.In cases that I know about, it seems that the father's name is not on the documents even though the mother has named him...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Manitoulin Island, Ontario

Posted on August 24, 2009
Greetings from Manitoulin Island, Ontario, where we are having a bit of August R and R. This photo was taken at Evergreen Resort, near Gore Bay.- Garry J. Wise, Toronto Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net EMPLOYMENT LAW ? CIVIL LITIGATION ? WILLS AND ESTATES ? FAMILY LAW & DIVORCEORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOG ? SUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Good Grief: President Hannity?

Posted on August 23, 2009
Is Sean Hannity considering a run for the White House in 2012? Talk-show host Sean Hannity, a vocal opponent of Barack Obama's policies, said today he would not rule out a bid for the presidency in 2012.If so, a candidate will actually have emerged who will, by comparison...

Suaad Hagi Mohamud Launches $2.5 Million Law Suit

Posted on August 22, 2009
According to National Post, Suaad Hagi Mohamud, the Canadian woman stranded in Kenya for over three months after Canadian embassy officials in Kenya wrongly branded her an imposter, has sued Canadian Government for $2.5 million. Ms. Mohamud, who was visiting her mother in Kenya, was detained and barred from leaving Kenya after authorities said her lips did not match her four-year-old passport photo...

Recently Tweeted - August 21-09 Edition

Posted on August 21, 2009
It's that time of week again, and this vacation edition finds us on the road, dodging tornadoes at home as we detour to avoid Hurricane Bill in the east. None of that, however, could ever delay delivery of yet another installment of Wise Law Blog's tweets of the week:Oklahoma judge finds broad abortion law unconstitutional http://bit...

Levitt's Lament

Posted on August 20, 2009
Employers' lawyer Howard Levitt breaks the "bad news" to his Financial Post readers - Suing Employers Soon to Get Easier.On Jan. 1, the most dramatic changes to the rules of court since 1985 will be implemented. These rules will disable three of the most valuable weapons in employers' litigation arsenal-- costs, complexity and delay...

Will Massive Ontario Legal Aid Deficit Threaten Service?

Posted on August 20, 2009
Legal Aid Ontario faces a budget shortfall of $56 million, and service cutbacks to may lie ahead, according to a report today by the Globe and Mail's Kirk Makin:The Ontario legal aid plan faces a staggering $56-million budget shortfall - a funding crisis that comes as it is already reeling from a boycott by senior criminal lawyers...

Facebook "Lite..".

Posted on August 20, 2009
Remind you of anything...?- Garry J. Wise, Toronto Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net EMPLOYMENT LAW ? CIVIL LITIGATION ? WILLS AND ESTATES ? FAMILY LAW & DIVORCEORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOG ? SUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

More Twoubles in Tweetville?

Posted on August 20, 2009
- Garry J. Wise, Toronto Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net EMPLOYMENT LAW ? CIVIL LITIGATION ? WILLS AND ESTATES ? FAMILY LAW & DIVORCEORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOG ? SUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Congressman Barney Frank is My Hero

Posted on August 19, 2009
New York Congressman Barney Frank, via CNN, pushing back at a town hall meeting on health care reform:While Frank attempted to respond to all questions, he gave up when one woman compared health care proposals favored by Frank and President Obama to policies of Nazi Germany...

The Fallibility of DNA Evidence

Posted on August 18, 2009
A New York Time article today highlights proof by Israeli researchers that DNA evidence may not be such a sure thing, after all:The scientists fabricated blood and saliva samples containing DNA from a person other than the donor of the blood and saliva...

Kinsella on Kinsella

Posted on August 18, 2009
Richard Albert has a light-hearted and entertaining profile of Warren Kinsella, Liberal Party strategist extraordinaire, in The Politic today. See: Warren Kinsella: Prince of DarknessMost amusing is Mr. Kinsella's discussion of his 1997 electoral loss as candidate in B...

e-Resources for Lawyers

Posted on August 18, 2009
Slowly, but surely, the legal profession appears to be embracing the Internet.It has been a justifiably cautious embrace, I might add. Online participation requires us to confront very real concerns about security, confidentiality, privacy - and professional responsibility - in a wholly new context...

Ontario Adoption Registry Records Opened, June 1, 2009

Posted on August 17, 2009
On June 1, 2009, Ontario opened its adoption registry, to permit adopted adults and their biological parents to learn more about each other. The Provincial Government's June 1 press release stated:McGuinty Government Opens Records For The First Time Since 1927Starting today, adopted adults and birth parents can get more information about their past...

CSNY Day at Wise Law Blog

Posted on August 17, 2009
40 years ago, today, it all began... - Garry J. Wise, TorontoVisit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net EMPLOYMENT LAW ? CIVIL LITIGATION ? WILLS AND ESTATES ? FAMILY LAW & DIVORCEORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOG ? SUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

CSNY @ Woodstock

Posted on August 16, 2009
It was forty years ago tomorrow, on August 17, 1969, that Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young first introduced themselves to the "half a million strong" at Max Yasgur's farm near Woodstock, New York.It was nearly 4:00 a.m. when Graham Nash, Steven Stills and David Crosby finally took the stage...

Political Pennance

Posted on August 16, 2009
Our quote of the day, from Bruce Bartlett, decribed in Wikipedia as "a domestic policy adviser to President Ronald Reagan and a treasury official under President George H.W. Bush:"I believe that political parties should do penance for their mistakes and just losing power is not enough...

The Tale of the Art of Norval Morrisseau, and the Artifacts of Grand Forks

Posted on August 15, 2009
Canadian art and Canadian artifacts; their worlds are often distinct. However last year they merged in two courts, illustrating how egos, principles, and perhaps greed, can motivate individuals and groups which are purportedly acting solely in the interest of a greater public good...

Questions for the "Obamacare Death Panel" Prophets

Posted on August 14, 2009
I have a few question for those ornery, silly conservatives in America who actually believe that Democratic health care proposals currently before Congress could result in an entrenched, national requirement that health-care dollars be saved by enforcing mandatory, non-consensual euthanasia (I think that is code for murder) of the elderly and disabled by America's physicians...

Friday Blawg Roundup

Posted on August 14, 2009
Some stories that have recently caught our collective eye: Costs in a Hague ApplicationA recent blog by Toronto family lawyer Andrew Feldstein discusses the case Mitchell v. Mitchell where an Ontario judge awarded $35,000.00 in costs to a father who applied under the Hague Convention to have his son returned to Florida from Canada...

The Late, Great Les Paul

Posted on August 14, 2009
Via Crooks and Liars- Garry J. Wise, Toronto Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net EMPLOYMENT LAW ? CIVIL LITIGATION ? WILLS AND ESTATES ? FAMILY LAW & DIVORCEORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOG ? SUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Recently Tweeted - August 14-09 Edition

Posted on August 14, 2009
This is another installment of "a little birdie told me so," with highlights of our Twitter updates over the past week:Court Rules Ottawa Must Seek Khadr's Return http://bit.ly/zGIJnJackson estate expected to balloon by $200M http://bit.ly/2pBCsBTort Reform Leader Brings Class Action Over Towed Car http://bit...

Quote of the Day

Posted on August 13, 2009
Patrick Appel, on David Bernstein's ridiculous argument that there may be genuine rationale for fearing that progressives' have an inclination toward eugenics - and apparently, by extension, the alleged, deadly perils of Obamacare:His post has more strawmen in it than all the cornfields of Iowa...

Learning the "Power of the Internet" (the Hard Way II)

Posted on August 12, 2009
This alleged Facebook chat is making the rounds, and certainly underlines the dangers of "friending" the boss (and of online indiscretion, generally).(Of course, it also left me thinking of the good old days of Wallace damages...)(h/t - Steven H.)- Garry J...

Learning the 'Power of The Internet' (The Hard Way)

Posted on August 12, 2009
CBC reports on David Fraser, one of three hunters whose illegal duck-shooting escapades garnered You Tube fame - and a $5,000.00 fine in a Saskatchewan court, after pleading guilty to hunting law violations:Fraser said he also learned a lot about the power of the internet and about exercising extra caution when posting to social networking sites...

Meghan McCain on Her "Feud" With Michelle Malkin

Posted on August 12, 2009
Twitter 'followers' as the new indicator of social (and political) currency, according to Meghan McCain, the conservative advocate and daughter of Senator John McCain:I don?t know exactly what about me threatens them so much, other than that people are listening to me...

Bill Clinton Returning to Speak at Toronto Stadium

Posted on August 12, 2009
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton will be back on Canadian soil this summer with a speaking engagement at the Toronto's B.M.O. Field on August 29, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. He will address the topic "Embracing Our Common Humanity."Details on the event were provided in the Toronto Star today:Tickets will cost between $20 and $50 and Clinton will speak at BMO Field...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.