Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan

Can you really sue a judge if you're wrongfully convicted? This episode unpacks the intriguing case of a man who attempted to do just that after his conviction was overturned. We dive into the legal constraints surrounding this scenario and examine Lord Denning's view that judges should be able to make decisions without fear of personal liability. Join our analysis of the limits of a jud...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: What does Canada's Bill C-48 mean for the future of the bail system, and does it truly address the issue of crime and social disorder? Join us for an eye-opening conversation with Michael Mulligan of Mulligan Defense Lawyers as we dissect the implications of this controversial bill and the reverse onus provision it introduces. We'll ex...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: What's the secret to unlocking more housing supply in municipalities like Oak Bay, Victoria, and Sanich? Today, we uncover the implications of BC Government's Housing Supply Act and what it means for these targeted municipalities. We discuss the process that the government will undergo to set housing targets, including the appointment...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: Only a tiny percentage of contracts ever end up in court. This is because contracts are intended to be agreements both parties wish to enter. If, for example, you agree to purchase a home from someone, both you and the seller presumably want to buy and sell the home for an agreed price. Nobody is required to force the home sale to complete as ag...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: The Supreme Court of Canada has created a new, very high hurdle for a judge to dismiss applications in criminal cases summarily without allowing the party making the application to call evidence. The case that gave rise to the issue involved an application for a stay of proceedings brought by two men found guilty of six murder charges. The trial...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: In 2013, a 28-year-old babysitter, and mother of four, was charged with murder when a 19-month-old drowned in a bathtub. The case against her was based on the opinion of a pathologist who alleged that “there is no benign explanation” for injuries sustained by the child and that the child had “extensive bruising” that is “typical of abused childr...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: For many years, the BC government has paid all lawyers working for it on the same basis as contracts negotiated by the union representing Crown Counsel. Recently the government decided to stop doing this. That decision likely increased support for the rest of the lawyers to sign up to join the BC Government Lawyers Association: 75% did so. The B...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: A third charge approval review, ordered by David Eby, comes to the same conclusion as the first two: there is no basis for money laundering charges arising from a large RCMP investigation into cash or casino chips being provided to high-stakes Chinese gamblers. A long-running public inquiry, also ordered by Mr. Eby, revealed that high-stakes gam...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: Unlike in the United States, where property rights are constitutionally protected, there is no similar protection in the Canadian Charter. Various provinces, including British Columbia, have set up civil forfeiture regimes that permit property to be seized absent any criminal conviction. Civil forfeiture can occur based on a civil standard of a...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: Following 7 days of hearings, with 79 pages of notices of application, responses to applications, and pleadings, 13 affidavits totalling more than 500 pages, 67 authorities, and over 90 pages of written submissions, a BC Supreme Court Judge has concluded that the District of Central Saanich did not have authority, pursuant to its Tree Protection...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: A University of Victoria instructor pleaded guilty to criminal contempt for blocking a road by chaining himself to a log. Other people who had been convicted in similar circumstances have been sentenced to a period of probation with 100 hours of community work service. Following the man's arrest, his bag, containing $1605 of his camping gea...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: In response to political pressure resulting from public disorder and random assaults of strangers, BC Premier Eby announced several policy changes, including some amendments to the Crown Counsel Policy Manual concerning bail. Much of the social disorder and irrational, random assaults of strangers in urban centres are rooted in the increase in h...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: British Columbia has had inadequate legal aid funding for family and poverty law cases for many years. In 1992 the NDP government imposed a special tax on legal services to fund legal aid. Anyone who hires a lawyer pays this special 7% tax that applies to no other professional services. In 2002 the Liberal government of the day cut legal aid fun...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: All too often, people with serious mental illnesses end up in the criminal justice system when they are not afforded adequate and sustained medical treatment. In a case discussed on the show, a man who had suffered from multiple mental health issues since he was eight years old was charged with assault with a weapon and aggravated assault after...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: In the context of a judicial review of a decision to compel a patient to continue to receive antipsychotic medication against her will for many years, the difference between bail in a criminal case and involuntary treatment pursuant to the Mental Health Act is discussed. In most circumstances, when someone is arrested for a criminal offence, the...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: A dispute over the adoption of a dog named Maddie ended up in court after the woman who “rescued” and sold her tried to get her puppies back to sell. The dispute involved a woman in Port Alberni who has a business selling dogs that the judge concluded was misrepresented to be a registered non-profit organization called Ziggy’s Rescue. A family p...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: In response to criticism from mayors and others, a report entitled A Rapid Investigation into Repeat Offending and Random Stranger Violence in British Columbia was prepared. The authors of the report, a retired deputy police chief, and an academic, found that in 2021, while there had been a 7.55% reduction in the non-violent crime severity index...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: In 2008 the age at which someone can consent to sexual activity was raised from 14 to 16. Some exceptions permit people younger than 16 to consent to sexual activity with someone close in age. A 12- or 13-year-old can consent to sexual activity with someone who is less than two years older. A 14- or 15-year-old can consent to sexual activity wit...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: Non-pecuniary damages are compensation for personal injury losses that have not required the outlay of money. The purpose is to compensate injured people for pain, suffering, disability, inconvenience, and loss of enjoyment of life. They are also referred to as compensation for pain and suffering. Such damages are distinct from pecuniary damages...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: Five different legal challenges to COVID-19 restrictions are all dismissed on the same day. Several of the people who launched legal challenges failed to avail themselves of internal legislative review mechanisms before commencing challenges in court. Before commencing a judicial review, it’s a requirement that someone exhaust legislative avenue...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: Promissory estoppel is an equitable doctrine that can protect a claimant’s reasonable reliance on another person’s word. It is intended to avoid unfairness by enforcing promises. In a case discussed on the show, a judge needed to determine if either promissory estoppel or another equitable doctrine called unjust enrichment should result in a far...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: When someone trespasses on property by building or installing something on it without permission, damages can be awarded. The amount of such an award will depend on the circumstances: a)nominal damages if the owner had not proven any actual loss b)actual damages suffered by the owner; or c)damages equal to a sum that should reasonably be paid by...

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: The British Columbia General Employee Union is picketing government liquor distribution centers. The explanation for this strategic choice can be found in the Liquor Distribution Act, which is the legal basis for how alcohol is sold in British Columbia. The Liquor Distribution Act creates a government monopoly over alcohol distribution in the pr...

The week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: When children are believed to be at risk of harm in British Columbia, they can be apprehended by the director of the Ministry of Children and Families and placed with another family member or into foster care. Pursuant to the Child, Family and Community Service Act, a judge would then need to determine what was in the best interest of the child....

This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: Section 273.1(1) of the Criminal Code specifies that a person’s voluntary agreement to “engage in the sexual activity in question” is required. Even where there is consent to sexual activity, it can be legally ineffective in various circumstances, including where the consent is obtained by force, the exercise of authority or fraud. In 2014, the...