Friday, July 12, 2019

One of these days,

the Supreme Court of Canada will hand down its decision in a landmark case concerning the validity of a provision of the Code of Service Discipline that turns every violation of the civilian Criminal Code into a military offense, notwithstanding the resulting deprivation of the right to trial by jury. But what's happening on the ground with respect to offenses committed by military personnel? This report from the Globe and Mail tells the tale. Short version: some cases are being shunted into the civilian courts, and a few of those are not being pursued as a matter of civilian prosecutorial discretion. A few other cases have been downgraded so they can be handled in military summary trials. Bottom line: the sky hasn't fallen.

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