Daniel J. Baum - Youth and the Law

Copyright Daniel J. Baum, 2014

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Editors: Katie Scott and Michael Melgaard

Design: Jesse Hooper

Epub Design: Carmen Giraudy

L ibrary and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Baum, Daniel Jay, 1934-, author

Youth and the law / Daniel J. Baum.

(Understanding Canadian law ; number 1)

Includes index.

Issued in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-1-4597-1955-2 (pbk.).--ISBN 978-1-4597-1956-9 (pdf).--ISBN 978-1-4597-1957-6 (epub)

1. Juvenile justice, Administration of--Canada. 2. Youth--Legal status, laws, etc.--Canada. I. Title.

KE9445.B39 2014 345.7103 C2013-907407-4

KF9780.ZA2B39 2014 C2013-907408-2

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J. Kirk Howard, President

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• Chapter 1 Physical Punishment of
  Youth A Crime?
• Chapter 2 Violent Young Offenders:
  Setting and Applying Standards
• Chapter 3 Bullying:
  Degrees of Harm
• Chapter 4 Police Sniffer Dogs:
  Schools and Public Places
• Chapter 5 Youth:
  Police and the Right to Be Warned
• Appendix Youth Criminal Justice Act:
  Section 146

F irst , I would like to acknowledge the Supreme Court of Canada. Over the decades, the membership of this nine-person Court has altered through retirement (mandatory at age seventy-five) or death. Increasingly, the Court has tried to hand down judgments that come ever closer to being decisions that can be read, understood, and discussed by those who want to be informed about the structure of our law, of our government, and more importantly, of our societys values. So, I thank most profusely the Supreme Court of Canada.

A second link in the chain between the law and the people is the media. It is possible, of course, in our highly computerized society to read the decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada online, but that can be an arduous process. On occasion, magazines such as Macleans feature a particular subject for investigative reporting, in which the Supreme Court of Canadas judgments (such as those relating to tobacco) may form a part. Newspapers such as the Toronto Star may select a story reflecting a matter of social concern, such as bullying. And, on a daily basis, radio or television may briefly report on such stories.

The net effect of media reporting, at best, ranges from episodic to minimal. Perhaps the one constant to which we frequently refer in this series is the informed editorials in Canadas national newspaper, the Globe and Mail . Without hesitating, the Globe and Mail granted the right to reprint editorials (and there were many) on Supreme Court of Canada decisions. The approach of the Globe and Mail seems to be: Let the public be made aware. I thank them for their generosity and for maintaining consistently high standards.

Ordinarily, I would say that I take full responsibility for the contents of this book. Hopefully, however, the contents do not reflect my judgments but those of the Supreme Court of Canada. My task, as I saw it, was to discuss those judgments in a nonjudgmental and accessible way.