Law Show: Perspectives from the Co-Producers

Joanna Waldie and June Ling (3L)

Budgets, and posters, and t-shirts, oh my!

When everyone thinks of being a part of Law Show, they think about being on stage, being blinded by the stage lights, and possibly being embarrassed in front of an audience of friends and families. However, behind the glitz and glamour of it all, are a group of dedicated volunteers on the Production Committee. These volunteers have also devoted many hours of their time into ensuring the success and smooth operation of Law Show 2012.

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Law Show 2012: The Wizard of Laws

Jason Buttuls (3L)

I promised that what we would try to give our audience was something Tony-caliber, something you would see on Broadway. What the audience got was not something like The Book of Mormon or Rent, it was better. Better, because they have lasting memories of all their friends acting like fools. There are many performers and volunteers that are worthy of some recognition. While a mention in a Canons article may not suffice, please know that the work of all volunteers is appreciated greatly and that if you supported the show by coming out and watching we thank you for helping the show become a success.
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Law Games: That’s Not My Name

Jay White (3L)

Law games kicked off on Monday January 2nd with a bash at the Commodore Ballroom. It was an eventful night, filled with lots of love, lots of hate, and lots of shots in a shot competition that caused the UofA team to buy several hundred bear naked shots (melon vodka and vodka), which many of us will never have again. The party continued back at the Hotel where the Université de Sherbrooke reminded everyone why they are never welcome in our homes by ‘leaving their mark’ on the hotel tables.
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Court Clerkship Program

Barry Loutit (3L)

This year I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to participate in Law 599: the Courts Clerkship course. This year, the Faculty of Law offered ten spots in the course: eight in Provincial Court of Alberta and two in the Alberta Court of Appeal. Students were asked to apply for a spot in May with copies of their transcripts, curriculum vitae, and a letter of interest explaining why they would like to be a part of this experience. Selection to the positions was made on grades, life experience, and litigation-related experience. I ended up being placed with the Provincial Court.
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Turn your Term Paper into Fat Stacks

It seems that almost daily the university fills our inboxes with notices for speakers, alerts regarding CBA events, calls for paper submissions, and the like. Due to sheer volume we sift through these messages with varying degrees of attentiveness, and what often gets overlooked are easy opportunities to cash in on work we’ve already done. Case and point – every year students slave away on term papers for their classes and assume that after the paper gets graded it becomes worthless. This is both a false and expensive assumption because that paper that is merely taking up space on your computer’s hard drive could be worth some serious dough. Read more

Introducing the University of Alberta Health Law Club

Aminollah Sabzevari (LLM Candidate)

The Health Law Club is a new student group at the University of Alberta for students who are interested in health law and policy. Our interests are not limited to traditional informed consent and medical malpractice issues but also include bioethical issues, such as research ethics, developing technologies like stem cells, Assisted Reproduction Technologies (ART), intellectual property issues in health related areas and public health law.
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OCIs: Draft Dodging

Andrew Dixon (2L)

The OCI process has been compared to many things; speed dating, real dating, online dating, a 1971 Chrysler LeBaron. And these comparisons are all fine. I understand them. Dating is awkward, superficial, nerve-wracking, tedious, sweaty, cumbersome, sweaty, frightening, nonsensical, sweaty, nasty, and occasionally sweaty. OCIs too are all of these things. But really, who dates anymore? Some low light, Jim Beam, and a camera phone are all you need to kick off a successful relationship these days. The OCI process just doesn’t work with this generation’s values and standards.
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The Omnibus Crime Bill: It’s Big—Real Big

Steven Straub

Whatever you may think of it, Bill C-10—formally known as the Safe Streets and Communities Act, or the “Omnibus Crime Bill” (OCB)—is being sped through the House like crime is going out of style. Nestled between its capacious covers are over 100 pages of legislation addressing an expansive range of issues. It serves as the linchpin in the Conservative tough-on-crime agenda, and marks a shift towards a more retributive philosophy of criminal justice in Canada, much to the bemusement of some international observers. Perhaps no proposed amendment illustrates this transition better than section 109, which substitutes the term “record suspension” for “pardon”.
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Meet Your Nominees

Andrea Mackowetzky (2L)

As we bid adieu to the honourable Mr. Binnie and Madam Charron, we greet their successors with the usual furor that follows.

The Supreme Court will soon hear contentious cases such as Bedford v Canada and Reference re: Criminal Code, s. 293 — the former concerning laws related to prostitution, the latter polygamy. Prime Minister Harper’s detractors expected him to appoint strategically in order to prevent these laws, and his omnibus crime bill, C-10, from failing any constitutional challenges.
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1L Experience

Allison Mitic (1L)

Law school: was it everything I thought it was going to be? No. Why not? Probably because everything I learned about law school came from the movie Legally Blonde, but it could also be because the University of Alberta Faculty of Law is completely different than even those who aren’t as theatrically cultured might have thought. I think it is safe to say that most of us pictured ourselves carrying around leather-bound books, wearing tweed jackets with leather patches on the elbows, and discussing the latest decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada over a glass of scotch. Read more

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