News 1. No known cause for fire at Barho family home Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency say they don’t know what caused the fire that burned down the Barho family home, killing all seven of the family’s children. In the Chronicle Herald, Stuart Peddle reports that three different teams of investigators, plus outside consultants, were […]
Like a turtle crawling out of a mulch pile
Morning File, Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Hi folks. Erica Butler here, filling in for Tim today. News 1. Al-Rawi asks for second assault charge to be quashed Reporting for the CBC, Blair Rhodes recaps the history of sexual assault investigations and charges against former Halifax cab driver Bassam Al-Rawi. While his first charge from a 2015 incident will be re-examined in […]
The Rape of Recy Taylor
In her book Carnal Crimes: Sexual Assault Law in Canada, 1900-1975, acclaimed University of Ottawa Law professor Constance Backhouse examines (among other topics) the life of Rose Marie Roper, an Indigenous woman from British Columbia. In April 1967, Roper’s nude and brutally beaten body was discovered “lying face down … near a garbage dump,” Backhouse […]
Court of Appeal hears taxi driver sex assault case
"A drunk can consent," ruled judge Greg Lenehan in lower court decision dismissing charges against Bassam Al-Rawi.
“A reluctant acquittal.” That’s how defence lawyer Luke Craggs characterized a decision by Nova Scotia judge Greg Lenehan last March, when Lenehan found taxi driver Bassam Al-Rawi not guilty of sexually assaulting an intoxicated 26-year-old female passenger. Craggs noted that in his written decision, Lenehan admitted he “struggled to understand what this evidence proves.” His...
“Systemic Failure” in Al-Rawi case: Morning File, Tuesday, April 18, 2017
News 1. “Systemic Failure” in Al-Rawi case Elaine Craig, a law prof at Dalhousie, has written a paper titled “Judging Sexual Assault Trials: Systemic Failure in the Case of Regina v Bassam Al-Rawi.” The abstract: The recent decision to acquit a Halifax taxi driver of sexual assault in a case involving a very intoxicated woman, […]
Divest Dal: Examineradio, episode #103
This week we speak with Simon Greenland-Smith and Cameron Lowe of Divest Dal, a student lobby group working to get Dalhousie University to stop investing in fossil fuels. Also, Bassam al-Rawi was lost but now he’s found, Stephen McNeil takes a hit in the polls, Canso could be the next Cape Canaveral, and the New […]
Pizza File, Tuesday, March 14, 2017
I’m Katie Toth and I’m filling in for Tim on Morning File. The weather is supposed to be bad today. News 1. Bassam Al-Rawi is missing “Where is Bassam Al-Rawi?” asks Jennifer Henderson: Ten days after the 40-year-old Halifax taxi driver was acquitted of a sexual assault charge that set off a firestorm of protest against Judge Gregory Lenehan, […]
Usurious phone bills take advantage of prisoners’ families and screw poor people: Morning File, Wednesday, March 8, 2017
News 1. Crown to appeal Al-Rawi verdict “Less than a week after Judge Gregory Lenehan acquitted a Halifax taxi driver of sexual assault in a controversial decision hinging on consent, the Public Prosecution Service says he ‘could have and should have’ found the driver guilty based on multiple grounds,” reports Haley Ryan for Metro: On […]
Court Watch: Sexual assaults, Unfiltered Brewing, and Christina’s day in court
In the News Taxi Driver Acquittal Rattles Public Confidence This week’s biggest story is still unfolding. The acquittal of Bassam Al-Rawi for the sexual assault of an intoxicated woman, found passed out and mostly naked in his cab, will thankfully be appealed for its legal errors. I won’t attempt to duplicate the excellent coverage of...
“Fleeting gratification” and the Al-Rawi verdict: Morning File, Tuesday, March 7, 2017
News 1. The Bassam Al-Rawi verdict, justice, and men speaking to men Yesterday, the Nova Scotia Criminal Lawyers Association issued a statement on Judge Gregory Lenehan’s verdict in the case of Bassam Al-Rawi, the cab driver Lenehan acquitted of sexual assault. You can read the whole statement here, but here’s the take-away: A significant amount of criticism in […]