The first-ever Twitter Moot will examine the impact of social media on the justice system.
Supreme Court
Mohamed Harkat condemned by a secret system of 'justice'
It was ironic that on International Human Rights Day, Dec. 10, family, friends, and supporters of secret trial detainee Mohamed Harkat gathered with him and his wife, Sophie, to weep and reflect on three federal court decisions against him. The latest decision upheld the regime of secret hearings and judicially sanctioned rendition to torture; and Harkat's supporter's recommitted to ending what domestic and international critics have labelled a star chamber process.
Due to a system based on secret allegations that neither accused nor lawyers can contest, Harkat has, for eight years, been subject to a "security certificate," a measure by which individuals can be detained, held indefinitely without charge, and ultimately be deported, despite the risk of torture.
Social media is an opportunity to discuss law, endangered caribou and First Nations rights
The Supreme Court of Canada's Chief Justice, Beverly McLachlan, raised many virtual eyebrows on January 31 when she expressed concern about the impacts of social media on Canada's justice system. Her worry is that people using social media as their main information source may be getting an inaccurate impression of the justice system.
Especially timely -- at least to West Coast Environmental Law -- was her question: "How can a medium such as Twitter inform the public accurately or adequately, in 140 characters or less, of the real gist of a complex constitutional decision?"
Weekly Pulse: Nebraska's sweeping abortion ban on collision course with Supreme Court
| April 14, 2010