Family Law•
on May 8th, 2012•
There has been an ongoing child custody case in Ontario which involves a newborn baby and his parents who suffer from cerebral palsy. Before the baby was born the Peel Children’s Aid Society was notified about this case by social workers. They had strong feeling for the unborn baby and were worried the parents couldn’t provide the child with proper care.
Ryan Machete has spoken up as a friend of the couple and a spokes person for Coalition for Persons with Disabilities. He believes the parents will do a fine job as they have proved their capabilities up to this point. Machete has been extra kind to the family, as he takes this case quite personally, and has sponsored 24 hour care for the newborn at a price of two thousand dollars per week.
There will be an upcoming meeting to discuss a solid plan to make sure the child has proper care.
A loaded gun was found in a young boys schoolbag by his teacher. It seems the boy got into a fight with another student and that lead to the discovery of the loaded gun by the teacher who got involved. The police were immediately called down to Oakdale Park Middle School and took custody of the student. The parents were heavily questioned by the police but reports on this case are not currently known.
This is not the first time where a gun appeared near Oakdale Park Middle School . Last year a man and some young girls were shot at right outside the school. Oakdale Park Middle School serves grades six to eight and has close to five hundred and fifty students.
Criminal Law, Family Law•
on April 26th, 2012•
Since 2010 there has been an improvement of how all child custody cases are dealt with by the courts.
What caused the Ontario Government to make these changes?
‘The tragic death of young Katelynn Sampson back in 2008. The murderous act was taken out by Donna Irving, who was given child custody by the court just two months before even though she had a previous criminal record, along with her boyfriend, Warren Johnson. Before this incident, criminal records were not checked before the court granted anyone custody which was obviously a great mistake. However, that has all changed and now record checking is top priority. As well, reports from the Children’s Aid Society will also be reviewed.
Irving had called 911 and claimed that Sampson choked on some food and stopped breathing. However, when the EMS arrived they took note of the trauma signs on Sampson’s body which lead to Irving’s arrest. Sampson’s own parents were drug addicts and entrusted their daughter with Irving until they settled their own lives.
Criminal Law, Family Law•
on March 20th, 2012•
Shootings are all too commong so When Trayvon Martin, a seventeen year old teen from North Orlando, died from a shooting it barely made it into the headlines. However, that changed after the community got involved.
Mr. Zimmerman, who has a legal permit to carry a gun, was responsible in this case. He is a crime-watch volunteer in the area and spotted Martin. At the time he did call the police he informed him that he doesn’t need to watch this young teen. Zimmerman didn’t listen and took things in his own hands.
Martin and Zimmerman got into a confrontation and what really occurred during that time is not quite clear. A young witness heard a cry for help and then it was silence, Zimmerman used his Kel-Tec, 9 mm semi-automatic in what he claimed was for self defense.
Zimmerman was not charged and the community is outraged and would like this case to be carefully reviewed once again. They have started a petition where thousands have already signed.
Family Law•
on March 13th, 2012•
A young four year old Kitchener, Ontario resident drew a picture which got a lot of attention. A gun was part of the drawing which was noted by the teacher. When Jessie Sansone came to pick up his children, at the end of the day, he was directed to the principal’s office where the police were waiting for him.
Sansone was taken down to the station handcuffed and then searched along with his home. In the meantime his children were taken in by the Family and Children’s Services.
The police claimed there was reason for them to suspect there was a gun in his possession from interviews they conducted. As well, they believed the weapon was in reach and in view of the children. After the intense search they only came up with a toy pistol.
There is an aspect of safety involved but in this case it seemed to have gone overboard.
Family Law•
on March 6th, 2012•
The Advocate for Children and Youth of Ontario has presented an extensive report to urge the Ontario government to extend the cut off age for foster care. Till now the cut off is at twenty one and then all support stops. Twenty one is quite young for someone to be left to carry the emotional and financial burden by themselves. They are urging the government to extend the age to twenty five which seems more reasonable.
Ontario is currently taking care of thousands of children who were removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect. These children on welfare can continue getting support till twenty one if they are actively looking for work or are attending school. Otherwise, at the young age of eighteen all support is taken away from them.
There is no word yet if the government is going to take into account what was included in the seventy page report.
Family Law•
on February 27th, 2012•
Unfortunately, the news keeps revealing more and more child abuse cases that are occurring in Ontario. Just a few weeks ago Mr. Powell killed himself and his two sons in a house fire. To add to the unbelievable suffering these young boys endured, he first had to bring an ax onto their bodies. Two years prior to this incident, the mother of these children went missing. The police have still not been able to find her.
This recent act of murder and suicide is quite puzzling. A few days prior, Powell appeared before a Washington state court for custody over his children. At the time he stated he misses his wife and wants to be a good father for his children. However, the judge ruled for the children to stay with their mothers parents. This must have set Powell off and the next time the children came to visit he conducted his well thought out murderous act.
News•
on February 7th, 2012•
What is impaired driving?
Impaired driving is when you are in the drivers seat of a vehicle and affected by alcohol or drugs. If caught, one can lose their license, have to pay a fine and possibly spend time in jail.
A look at the consequences for impaired driving:
A fully-licensed drivers will have their license suspended if:
- they refuse to have a breath test
- their blood alcohol concentration level is at 0.05 or more
However, if they are fully licensed but under the age of twenty one they must have an alcohol level of zero. This is a new law that has been in effect since August 2010. If found, with any alcohol in their system, their license would be suspended immediately and may face a fine between $60-500 with a possibility of a thirty day license suspension.
Caught driving with a suspended license:
If one is caught while driving on a suspended license they will have their vehicle impounded. The minimum amount of days for impoundment is forty five days. It does not make a difference if the driver owns the car or not. The driver will also have to pay for towing and impoundment fees.
Criminal Law•
on January 30th, 2012•
On May 5, 2010, Michael Adams, a Toronto police officer stopped Junior Manon’s since he was driving against his court order.
Adam’s attempted with his partner to handcuff Manon, albeit, with great difficulty. Adam’s described Manon as having his head going from left to right and looked like he wanted to bite the officers. Manon’s strength was overbearing and Adams had to call for other officers to assist him.
Manon died from what may have been “positional asphyxia”, which can happen if someone’s position restricting them from breathing. Manon’s death was quite a shock to Adam; one minute he saw him as a strong overpowering teen and the next minute he was not among the living. It is very possible that Manon was taken to the ground and too much pressure was placed on his chest which resulted in his death.
Julian Falconer will be the lawyer representing the Manon family. It seems Adams was was also involved in an incident which took place at the G20 where Adams used too much force on a protester. Falconer would like both incidents brought to court against Manon since his force used is a major factor in both. The Manon family has a hard time believing that the two cases were coincidental and would like to believe that something is wrong with Adam’s training.
Adam will be appearing in court to testify his case.
As the streets of Ontario see more and more accidents, due to impaired driving, there will be a greater traffic enforcement. From January 1, 2012 to January 18th there was an estimate number of seventeen reported accidents on the highways.
Drivers are warned they will be issued tickets for:
- aggressive driving
- distraced driving; texting or talking on the phone
- impaired driving
- not wearing a seatbelt
Impaired driving is dangerous and needs to be stopped since it has already taken the lives of too many.