Canadian Criminal Law Library

Provides
practitioners, scholars and students with commentaries on current
criminal law issues having a Canadian, American or British
origin. The issues are placed into their proper historic, social,
and political context. The author is a Canadian practitioner and
author who has specialized in criminal law for 25 years.


PEOPLE WHO STALK PEOPLE
Stalkers plunge their victim into a world of fear and terror by
repeatedly following and attempting to contact their victim
despite pleas to stay away. In this recently - published article,
the author examines the four psychological profiles of those who
stalk, then considers the principal social, cultural and
political forces that prompted legislators in Canada and the
United States to move swiftly in the development of aggressive
anti-stalking legislation. [published at: 31 U.B.C. Law Review 37
(1997).]
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE OFFENCE OF RAPE
Sexual assault is unlike any other crime. Most perpetrators
are male. Most incidents go unreported, and, when charges are
laid, the resulting trial often focuses on the character and
motivation of the complainant rather than the conduct of the
person accused of the crime. In this article, the author traces
through the historical, social and legal underpinnings of the
offence of rape, and then examines the tension that has developed
between a judiciary that seeks to protect accused persons against
false accusations, and legislators who seek to protect the public
from this insidious crime. [First published by the Canadian Bar
Association in 1993 in a book entitled "100 years of the
Criminal Code"]
Law on the Internet:

- Supreme Court of Canada/University of
Montreal This site offers a searchable guide to
Supreme Court of Canada decisions. Court decisions,
usually released on Thursdays, are accessible on the day
of release. The site also offers instruction as to how to
subscribe to a free e-mail service which notifies
subscribers of impending decisions.
- Supreme
Court of Canada This is a site maintained by the Supreme
Court itself, and is in an early stage of development. It
provides general information on the Court, and a useful
calendar listing the dates for upcoming arguments. It
also provides a link to the Court's decisions.
- U.S.
Supreme Court Decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court and
other information may be found at this site, operated by
Cornell University. The site offers a free e-mail service
which provides synopses of cases shortly after their
release.
- U.S.
Courts of Appeal There are several ways of finding U.S. case
law, but this may be the easiest to use. It provides a
searchable guide to circuit court decisions in the U.S.
and a wealth of other legal information.
- Australian
Law This site, maintained by the Australian
Legal Information Institute, offers a fairly
comprehensive guide to Australian case and statute law,
including decisions of the Australian High Court. The
site is constantly being improved, and is an outstanding
research tool.
Bruce A.
MacFarlane, Q. C. Barrister and Attorney-at-Law (Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada)
bmacfarl@mts.net