Court of Appeal of Alberta Education Seminar - Online

Overview

This two-day online seminar with Court of Appeal of Alberta judges focused on two different themes: section 24(2) of the Charter and understanding anxiety and its potential effects in the courtroom, particularly during a pandemic.

Objective

The objective of this program was to provide an update and identify trends in the law of the exclusion of unconstitutionally obtained evidence under section 24(2) of the Charter.  A second objective was to understand how anxiety may have an impact on all participants in the courtroom during the period of COVID.

Summary

The seminar opened with a two-part session led by an experienced judge and a legal academic on the topic of section 24(2) of the Charter. The key aspects of the Supreme Court of Canada’s jurisprudence on the exclusion of unconstitutionally obtained evidence under s. 24(2) were reviewed. Following this, the speakers and participants examined and discussed the most difficult and contentious issues emerging in recent s. 24(2) case law. On day two, a leading academic addressed the biology underlying chronic stress and anxiety and how it can impact everyone who interacts within a courtroom, particularly during the period of COVID-19.