Publications

By Jacob Stilman . In yet another resounding defeat for the Conservatives, the Federal Court of Appeal in Ishaq v. Canada summarily dismissed an appeal by the government of the lower court decision that had declared unconstitutional the attempt by Citizenship and Immigration Canada to prohibit niqab-wearing women from taking the Oath of Citizenship.

By Jacob Stilman . A recent decision of the Court of Appeal ought to put to rest, once and for all, any notion that cultural factors can serve to mitigate sentences in cases of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Toronto criminal lawyer Jacob Stilman says the dehumanization of prisoners and people awaiting trial is a major problem and many would say the justice system needs an overhaul.

By Jacob Stilman . When a new client comes to see me, despondent and dismayed to be facing the prospect of a criminal conviction, and seeking guidance as to how to navigate the rocky shoals of our criminal justice system, I often describe the process in these terms:

TORONTO – Former Toronto mayor Rob Ford’s friend Alexander (Sandro) Lisi has been found not guilty on drug-related charges. Hamilton Spectator Toronto Star

TORONTO – An Ontario judge is set to give his decision today in the drug trial of Rob Ford’s driver.

TORONTO – An undercover police officer pushed hard for a dry cleaner to arrange a drug deal with then-mayor Rob Ford’s driver but there’s no evidence the store owner was ever a trafficker, an Ontario court heard Wednesday. CBC News

TORONTO – The arrest of then-mayor Rob Ford’s driver and a dry cleaner followed months of intense police surveillance that involved officers, aerial spotting, electronic tracking and even a camera mounted on a street pole, an Ontario court heard Monday. Toronto Star 680 News

By Jacob Stilman . A recent decision by the Ontario Superior Court provides useful, albeit sobering, guidance to the issue of applications by individuals for the return of items seized by the police.

Toronto criminal lawyer Jacob Stilman has suggested to the court that the drug investigation that ensnared Rob Ford’s friend and a drycleaner during the crack-tape scandal was based on a deception involving an undercover Toronto police officer who became friends with one of the accused, reports CBC, Globe and Mail , Toronto Star , and National Post.

TORONTO – A hearing into drug charges against a friend of former Toronto mayor Rob Ford began Tuesday with the accused a no show, one count against him withdrawn, and his co-accused making an extraordinary request to be excused from trial.

By Jacob Stilman . Here’s a question for everyone: when was the last time a police officer was arrested for an alleged offence, and I mean arrested – apprehended in the middle of the work day, hand-cuffed to the back, in front of colleagues, the public, the press, “perp-walked,” and stuffed into a waiting police cruiser for the benefit of all onlookers?

By Jacob Stilman . How appropriate that the Super Bowl is coming up. Once again, like a well-practiced football team, the Conservative government is breaking out its playbook and going with its favourite scoring set piece: the old “let’s-get-tough-on-crime” touchdown pass.

Lawyers who lose a case must remain focused on the sentencing and the possibility of appealing, Toronto criminal lawyer Jacob Stilman tells Lawyers Weekly .

By Jacob Stilman . A recent decision by Justice Mel Green of the Ontario Court of Justice – R. v. Pal-Deng , 2015 ONCJ 2 (CanLII) – raises fundamental and troubling questions as to the operation of our criminal justice system.