News and Commentary
Youths convicted of serious crimes like murder, manslaughter and violent sexual assaults will no longer automatically lose their anonymity. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in May that the publication ban on an offender’s name can be lifted only if removing the ban is justified. Previously, the Youth Criminal Justice Act required the offender to show why the ban should not be lifted, a requirement the court ruled violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Media lawyer Alan Shanoff, writing in the Edmonton Sun, calls the decision troubling and says those convicted of extremely violent crimes do not deserve to have their identities protected. Read the Law Times report on the ruling.