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Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice (CIAJ)
November 25 2022 - November 25 2022

Writing Reasons in Sexual Assault Cases 2022

An inquiry into the history of sexual assault cases in the Canadian criminal justice system points to a system wrought with biases, stereotypes and prejudices. Only in the last few decades did the law begin to swiftly progress. Because of this progression, courts across Canada have identified many stereotypes that live in the minds of decision-makers, including judges and juries, which are now prohibited from relying on when making decisions.

Number of Participants: 40

Overview

An inquiry into the history of sexual assault cases in the Canadian criminal justice system points to a system wrought with biases, stereotypes and prejudices. Only in the last few decades did the law begin to swiftly progress. Because of this progression, courts across Canada have identified many stereotypes that live in the minds of decision-makers, including judges and juries, which are now prohibited from relying on when making decisions.

As the law has developed protections against stereotypes, the social climate has adjusted so that blatant and common stereotypes are less and less common.

CIAJ has been teaching Judgment Writing for 40 years now (a four day functionally bilingual seminar for judges who wish to improve their understanding of the principles of effective judgment writing and their ability to put them into practice). Throughout the years various challenges have arisen in the courtrooms. The assessment of credibility in sexual assault cases is one that is often stated as one of the most difficult one to tackle. Given CIAJ and its experts’ vast experience in judgment writing, CIAJ has decided to develop a one-day seminar to address this particular issue. The program, intended for judges, includes plenary sessions, small-group workshops and time devoted to drafting reasons.

Objectives

Members of the judiciary will benefit from this seminar by learning and improving their writing skills when writing such reasons. They will receive expert feedback from the speakers and the experienced judges working with us.

Summary

This seminar is conceived by CIAJ faculty to help judges improve their writing skills and their reasons in complex cases. After the first iteration of the program, the curriculum will be evaluated to improve it and make it accurate to today’s judicial needs and changes.