Anti-gay demonstrator Bill Whatcott will soon learn what the Supreme Court of Canada has to say about the offensive flyers he dumped on Western Canada in the early 2000s. Whatcott spammed “hundreds of thousands” of Saskatchewanites until four people filed human rights complaints against him, claiming he had violated the Province’s hate laws. He responded [...]

On October 17, 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada released its landmark decision in Crookes v. Newton, 2011 SCC 47, affirming 2009 BCCA 392 and 2008 BCSC 1424. At issue was whether creating an internet hyperlink to defamatory material constitutes “publication” of the material for the purposes of defamation law. The case challenged the Court [...]

Before being born again, Bill Whatcott had it rough: by 14 he was living on the streets, selling himself to older men to survive, sniffing glue to get by. His religious rebirth transformed him into an outspoken member of the Christian Truth Activists. The religious teachings he chooses to preach in this new life do [...]

During a November oral argument about a California law that would restrict minors from buying violent video games, Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel A. Alito squared off on constitutional originalism. These two United States Supreme Court justices debated whether the ratifiers of the First Amendment would have included portrayals of violence in video games as [...]

Those who have seen Louis Theroux’s BBC documentary, The Most Hated Family in America, and wondered whether Westboro Baptist Church was inevitably headed for a lawsuit, were vindicated when Albert Snyder finally brought the infamous Phelps family to court after they protested at the funeral of his son.  Marine Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder was killed [...]

One of the more novel cases that the Supreme Court will hear in their winter 2011 session is Doré v. Bernard, a case stemming from a 2001 incident in the Quebec Superior Court that landed at SCC via the Quebec Court of Appeal (2008 QCCA 1438). The case concerns the ability of a lawyer to openly [...]

Newspapers once again find themselves on the losing side of libel suits. On July 13, 2010, in Flood v. Times Newspaper Ltd. [2010] EWCA Civ 804 (“Flood”), the England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division) (“EWCA”) overturned the trial decision and held that a newspaper was unable to claim qualified privilege for online reporting [...]

On September 22, 2010, Toronto Police Constable Adam Josephs launched a lawsuit in the Ontario Superior Court: Adam Josephs v. YouTube et. al (2010) CV-10-410890 (Ont. Sup. Ct.) (“Josephs v. YouTube”). In the suit, Constable Josephs sues video sharing website YouTube for $1.25 million. He seeks damages for defamation of his reputation and disclosure of [...]

Whatever Your Politics… George Galloway is an alarming man. When he is interviewed on television, renowned and regularly resolute broadcasters succumb to trembling in trepidation. Although he possesses a cheeky grin and charming Scottish lilt, he is loud, blunt, and, on occasion, exceptionally rude. Although some find the former Member of the British Parliament to [...]

Limits of journalistic press freedom for qualified-privilege and fair comment are hotly debated in jurisdictions around the world as courts try to balance the public interest in freedom of information with private reputational interests battling defamation. Last year, TheCourt covered Grant v. Torstar Corp., 2009 SCC 61 (“Torstar Corp.”), a decision that ranked as the top [...]