Canada’S Courts The Processes Of + Test Bank + Answers Ch.5

CHAPTER 5

Canada’s Courts: The Processes of Dispute Resolution

TRUE/FALSE

1. Timely access to justice has been adequately provided for in the twenty-first century.

2. Alternative dispute resolution and restorative justice seeks to by-pass the adversarial context of the Courts.

3. The primary difference between summary and indictable offences is that an indictable offence is typically considered to be less serious.

4. In hybrid offences, the Crown chooses to proceed either summarily or by indictment, depending on the seriousness of the accused’s actions.

5. In each province of Canada, there are only two divisions of provincial courts.

6. The superior courts in every Canadian jurisdiction are divided into two divisions: a Trial Division and an Appeal Division.

7. Libel and defamation cases are heard in the criminal division of the provincial courts.

8. The courts in Canada operate in the context of the inquisitorial system.

9. The adversarial system is not ultimately concerned with finding the truth. The system only chooses from the truths presented by opposing counsel.

10. According to sociologists Richard Ericson and Patricia Baranek, individuals charged with criminal offences are usually well-informed and knowledgeable about court proceedings.

11. Television networks have full access to Canada’s courts.

12. Section 690 of the Criminal Code imposes the standard of beyond reasonable doubt in any application to the Minister of Justice seeking to acquit an accused who has exhausted all appellate remedies.

13. The legal system’s treatment of David Milgaard and Donald Marshall raises the question of whether our legal system needs a better way to respond fairly and effectively to cases where allegations of wrongful conviction are proven.

14. There are no juries in Canadian civil trials.

15. The Canadian jury system is modelled after the American one, which allows jurors to disclose the deliberations of the jury after the trial is completed.

16. In the United States, the outcomes of the two different trials of O.J. Simpson demonstrated that race may play a role in the jury’s decisions.

17. Most judges in Canada believe that citizens serving on juries should have the authority to nullify laws that they believe to be unfair.

18. In the case of R v. Jordan, the Supreme Court established a time limit or ceiling beyond which delay is unreasonable.

19. Tribunals in Canada operate in a more formal and rigid context than the courts.

20. The section of the Criminal Code that directs the court to take into account the special circumstances related to the sentencing of Indigenous offenders has been struck down because it is contrary to the equality provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. There are three courts in each province presided over by provincial judges, one of which is the Small Claims Court. What are the other two provincially-appointed courts?

a. Young Offenders Court; Family Court

b. County Court; Provincial Offences Court

c. Criminal Division; Youth and Family Division

d. Provincial Offences Court; Youth and Family Division

2. The Supreme Court of Canada was established in which year?

a. 1867

b. 1930

c. 1949

d. 1982

3. Which statement best describes the Supreme Court of Canada?

a. It is a people’s court, where the accused is able to make a final plea to the judge.

b. It is a judge’s court, where judges are permitted to question the accused directly.

c. It is a lawyer’s court, where lawyers appear without their clients to argue points of law.

d. It is an open court, where any new evidence becomes open for consideration by the court.

4. Which of the following judges are appointed by the provincial government?

a. supreme or superior court judges, federal court judges, and supreme court judges

b. small claims court judges, family court judges, and provincial court criminal judges

c. Supreme Court of Canada judges, provincial appeal court judges, and divisional court judges

d. small claims court judges, superior court judges, and federal appeals court judges

5. According to sociologist Donald Black, how do the courts invoke social control?

a. They make orders that principally avenge and vindicate.

b. They make orders that principally compensate and punish.

c. They make orders that principally compensate and avenge.

d. They make orders that principally vindicate and punish.

6. Canadian judges can impose which of the following sanctions?

a. financial penalties

b. compensation for negligence

c. the fulfillment of contracts

d. all of the above

7. Donald Black, sociologist describes four styles of social control ultimately imposed by the courts. What are these controls?

a. regulatory, statutory, municipal, or cultural

b. compensation, conciliation, punishment, or treatment

c. criminal, specific, individual, or collective

d. none of the above

8. Which Acts contain a statutory exception to the principle of open access to the courts?

a. Divorce Act

b. Firearms Act

c. Bankruptcy Act

d. Youth Criminal Justice Act

9. What is the only form of media delivery with an absolute right to complete access to the courts?

a. print

b. radio

c. Internet

d. television

10. Which statement best explains the main argument for formality in court?

a. Lawyers will command higher respect if they wear robes as uniforms.

b. Judges will be more neutral to the cases if the lawyers are dressed uniformly.

c. Formality lends itself to decorum and dignity which will ensure the respect of the citizenry for the courts themselves.

d. It is important for Canada to maintain the monarchic tradition by adopting uniforms similar to those worn in Britain.

11. Why are sociologists Richard Ericson and Patricia Baranek critical of the court process?

a. It places the onus on the accused to prove their innocence beyond a reasonable doubt.

b. It places the onus on the accused to hire the most expensive lawyer available to them.

c. It places the onus on the accused to prove their innocence on the balance of probabilities.

d. It places the onus on the accused to tell someone if they do not understand what is happening.

12. In civil cases, the outcome depends upon a balance of probabilities. Which of the following statements best explains this idea?

a. The plaintiff must establish that his or her claim is more than 50 percent likely to be legitimate.

b. The respondent must establish that his or her claim is more than 50 percent likely to be legitimate.

c. The plaintiff must convince at least 60 percent of the jury that he or she is in the right.

d. The respondent must convince at least 60 percent of the jury that he or she is not in the wrong.

13. Which statement best explains why David Milgaard, after being convicted of murder and losing his appeals, was eventually paid compensation after being released, having spent years in prison?

a. The real killer confessed to the crime.

b. At a new trial he was found not guilty.

c. The Minister of Justice ordered his release.

d. His DNA did not match that found on the clothing of the victim.

14. Which statement best exemplifies an argument in defence of the jury system?

a. Juries are less likely than judges to be swayed by dramatic lawyers when making their decisions.

b. Juries are more likely to apply principles of equity and community fairness to the cases they are hearing.

c. Juries make their decisions on the basis of majority rule therefore bringing democracy to the litigation process.

d. Juries are not being paid by the State and therefore will be less biased than judges when making their decisions.

15. Which issue was critical in the court’s decision in R. v. Askov?

a. the length of the delay to trial

b. the dollar amount of the restitution order

c. the threat of armed violence and extortion

d. the application of community standards by the jury

16. Which issue distinguished the minority opinion from the majority opinion in R. v. Jordan?

a. Jordan was a charged with drug offences.

b. Reasonableness of time delay should not be subject to numerical ceilings.

c. Time factors are not relevant to section 11 (b) of the Charter.

d. There were five indictable offences.

17. There are new conflict resolution models now in place in Canada to counter the cost and time factors of the adversarial system. Which of the following models is used in Canada?

a. mediation model

b. inquisitorial model

c. reflective justice model

d. traditional sentencing model

18. In R. v. Gladue the Supreme Court of Canada held that principles of restorative justice must be applied. Which statement best explains their reasoning?

a. Aboriginal offenders do not understand the law.

b. There is a need to restore justice and order in Aboriginal communities.

c. Aboriginal offenders rarely commit criminal acts on purpose.

d. There is a need to recognize the impact of systemic discrimination and the different circumstances of Aboriginal offenders.

19. Increasingly, we are seeing the involvement of community-based groups in the criminal justice system in order to try to reduce specific types of crime. Which of the following groups has organized one of the most successful lobby campaigns?

a. Mothers Against Drunk Driving

b. Boy Scouts of Canada

c. the Canadian Red Cross

d. off-duty police officers

ESSAY

1. In 1970 a jury convicted David Milgaard of non-capital murder. In 1992, the Supreme Court of Canada ordered a new trial in his case and he was released. Approximately five years later the province of Saskatchewan apologized to him for his wrongful conviction and offered him compensation. What steps did Milgaard and his supporters have to take to gain his release and ultimate exoneration for the crime for which he was originally charged? What procedures are in place to try to correct the failures of the court system when it wrongfully convicts someone? Are there any changes that could be made in the system to prevent the re-occurrence of such cases?

2. Juries are most often used in Canadian criminal trials. What are the strengths and weaknesses associated with the jury process and how could the system be improved?

3. Contrast the Canadian jury system with the American jury system, taking into account the role American juries play in the application of the death penalty, deliberation disclosure, and other unique differences.

4. Discuss the Supreme Court of Canada rulings in R. v. Askov and R. v. Jordan. Which factors were considered important to the Supreme Court of Canada in each case? Why is the issue of delay important and what is the impact of the Charter and the concept of reasonableness?

5. What is restorative justice and how is it affecting the Canadian Court System. Provide detailed examples

6. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the two dispute resolution models outlined in this chapter. Compare these models to the adversarial system presently in place in Canada.

7. Discuss the complicated issues raised in the Gladue decision and in section 718.2(e) of the Criminal Code around the sentencing of Aboriginal offenders in Canada.