ASSIGNMENT: INTRODUCTION TO CANADIAN LEGAL SYSTEMS

 

Read these instructions carefully.  This assignment is worth 25% of your final grade and is due at the beginning of class in Week 11 (November 26, 2020).  Assignments handed in 10 minutes after class has started will be late.  Late assignments will have 10% deducted from that time on and for each day late up to a maximum of five days, after which they will not be accepted and you will receive a grade of zero. Your assignments will be handed in through blackboard in the Course Assignment link.  After entering the content folder where students can locate the assignment instructions, students will click on the heading link called “Course Assignment” where the assignment may be uploaded and submitted.  There will only be one (1) attempt to submit so please ensure you review you work and confirm that it is your final submission before submitting.

ASSIGNMENT DETAILS:

You will be assigned one section of the Charter.  You are being asked to do a five (5) page write up addressing the following questions:

1. Why was this section of the Charter included? (consider social issues at the time the charter was enacted)
2. Conduct case law research about the section.  Find the highest courts consideration of the section (preferably a Supreme Court decision).  You may use LexisNexis (Quicklaw), CanLii or Westlawecarswell in locating a case.  Once you have located a case, address the following:
   1. Who were the parties involved in the case? (i.e. who was the plaintiff and who was the defendant?)
   2. Briefly describe the facts of the case.
   3. What were the issues before the court? (stated in question format)
   4. What primary and/or secondary law was considered in this case? (Charter  and otherwise)
   5. What was the decision of the court on the issue(s) before it?
   6. What was the court’s reasoning for its decision?
   7. What was the court’s interpretation of the section of the Charter?
3. How many times has this case been distinguished, followed and considered?
4. Find a recent case that considered this section of the Charter and also used the above noted case as a precedent for Charter related reasons.
   1. Explain the recent case’s use of the precedent case? (i.e. followed, considered or distinguished)
   2. How did the court interpret the section of the Charter in the circumstances.

Formatting Instructions: double spaced, single sided, one (1) inch margin, 12 point font size in Times New Roman.  Marks will be deducted for improper formatting.

Marks will be deducted for improper sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, spelling and paragraph structure.  Only word-processed submissions will be accepted – handwritten assignment submissions are not acceptable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assignment Rubric

 

PART 1:

 

Completion and accuracy of all parts                                                             /35

 

Organization/format/clarity                                                                             /10

Grammar, spelling                                                                                           /10

 

TOTAL:                                                                                                         /55 Marks

VALUE                                                                                                          /25%