There’s no doubt that public confidence in the justice system is an important social objective; without such confidence we risk vigilantism and a lack of support for the rule of law, a critical foundation for any democracy.
Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan has complained that a fall election will kill critical anti-crime legislation currently before the House of Commons, bills that would eliminate the faint hope clause and impose mandatory minimums for drug crime.
In what has become a mantra for the electronic age, the blogs were rife with strong opinions regarding the conduct of Michael Bryant and the death of cyclist Darcy Sheppard. Comments either condemned Mr. Bryant for the culpable homicide of Mr. Sheppard, or exonerated him for acting in self-defence. The Globe and Mail has now disabled comments on the matter, “for legal reasons”.
What’s striking about this case is both how much and how little we already know, and how traditional black and white judgements of right and wrong are quickly fading to grey. We know that Mr. Sheppard had been interviewed by the police earlier that evening, that he had been drinking, that Mr. Bryant and Mr. Sheppard were involved in a cyclist-driver altercation, and that Mr. Bryant’s Saab convertible was driving in the wrong direction on Toronto’s busy Bloor Street, with Mr. Sheppard holding on . We also know that Mr. Bryant has been charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving causing death.
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