Title: Chief Justice Lamer and Some Myths About Judicial Activism
Abstract: This article defines judicial activism in both jurisprudential and institutional terms and identifies a number of myths about judicial activism. It then examines Chief Justice Lamer's judgments in a number of areas both before and after the Charter. The topics examined include the exclusion of improperly obtained evidence, constructive murder, regulatory offences, prostitution offences and ignorance of the law.The author concludes that there was significant continuity between Chief Justice Lamer's pre- and post-Charter decisions. He suggests that one myth about judicial activism is that judges did not exercise creativity or let concerns about fairness influence their decisions prior to the enactment of the Charter.The author argues that another myth about judicial activism is that the Charter has seen a system of Parliamentary supremacy be replaced with one based on judicial supremacy. To illustrate this point, he demonstrates that even Chief Justice Lamer's boldest decisions under the Charter left room for legislative replies. He also argues that Chief Justice Lamer was more deferential to Parliament's attempt to regulate prostitution under the Charter than before.
Publication Year: 2000
Publication Date: 2000-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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