NJI

Many courts across the country have refined how judges sentence Black offenders. In 2022 the federal government signed agreements with several provinces to fund comprehensive pre-sentence reports for Black offenders. The remaining provinces and territories are expected to sign agreements this year. And discussions have already begun about expanding the reach of such reports to other racialized groups.

This course prepares you to take on this evolving area of criminal law.

The course explores the legal issues, and provides answers to practical questions about getting and interpreting these new social context reports. It includes:

• A selection of resources for judges examining anti-Black racism in your jurisdiction.
• Short videos with the country’s top academics on "anti-Black racism” and what it means for a sentencing judge
• Examples of these new pre-sentence reports

Acknowledgments

The following judges have generously assisted with the development of this course:

• Justice Suhail Akhtar, Superior Court of Justice (Ontario)
• Justice Tamara Friesen, Court of King's Bench of Alberta
• Judge David St. Pierre, Provincial Court of British Columbia
• Judge Theodore Tax, Provincial Court of Nova Scotia
• Judge Jean Whalen, Provincial Court of Nova Scotia