Meet Your Hosts and Tips for Surviving Spring Term of 1L

Second half of 1L is a different kind of challenge but you will survive it – trust us, we’ve been there! Max, Indi and Jess introduce themselves as the hosts of the fifth season of Stare Indecisis and the tips that they wish someone had told them during spring semester of 1L.

Hosted by Max Gross, Indi Smart, and Jessica Frappier.

Edited by Max Gross.

Theme song by Max Gross.

Recorded at, and distributed by, CFUV Radio in Victoria, BC.

Dickson v Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation: Applying the Charter to Indigenous Governments with Krista Robertson, Counsel for the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation

The Supreme Court of Canada is expected to release its decision on Dickson v Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation in the coming weeks. Krista Robertson, counsel for the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, represented her client in all three levels of court. Indi and Krista discuss whether the Charter should apply to laws passed by self-governing Indigenous nations and why the analogous ground of Aboriginality-residence should not be applied to the facts of this case. This case also gives the SCC an opportunity to provide its first definitive direction on how section 25 of the Charter should be interpreted and applied.

Hosted and edited by Indi Smart.

Theme song by Max Gross.

Recorded at, and distributed by, CFUV Radio in Victoria, BC.

Paper Preview: When Words Can Do Justice

Host Cassidy Menard interviews Garima Karia, recent law school graduate and future clerk for the Supreme Court of Canada. Garima is one of six authors published in Volume 28 of Appeal: Review of Current Law and Law Reform. Her paper “When Words Can Do Justice: Assessing the Novel Relationship Between Legislative Drafting and Access to Administrative Justice in Yukon and Canada” explores the connection between thoughtful legislative drafting and access to justice.

Tune in for a range of conversation, including Garima’s time at the Yukon Human Rights Commission, her use of Amartya Sen’s expanded capabilities approach in a legal context, her love for author Jesse Thistle, and her experience working with the editors of Appeal Law Review.

If you have any feedback you would like to share with the hosts, please send us an email at appealpodcast@gmail.com.

Host: Cassidy Menard

Guest: Garima Karia

Editing: Cassidy Menard

Music: Machinery by Eddy

We respectfully acknowledge the Lekwungen peoples on whose traditional territory the University of Victoria stands and the Songhees, Esquimalt and WSÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.

Notwithstanding Your Rights: Section 33 of the Charter

In this podcast, Patrick interviews Patricia Hughes about Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, also known as the notwithstanding clause. They discuss its history, recent invocations, and its potential for misuse.

Angus Reid Institute Study: https://angusreid.org/canada-constitution-notwithstanding-clause-bill-96-bill-28/

If you have any feedback you would like to share with the hosts, please send us an email at appealpodcast@gmail.com

Hosts: Patrick McDermott (he/him)

Editing: Patrick McDermott

Theme Song by Logan Aitken

Interstitials: Machinery by Eddy

What, like it’s hard? Tier-ranking lawyer films

You can’t handle the truth!! (of these rankings).

Join hosts Cassidy and Max for a totally-not-definitive tier ranking of nearly 30 lawyer films from the 1950s to the present. With little to back their opinions besides personal taste and unreliable memory, they grade some of cinema’s most renowned courtroom dramas including Legally Blonde, The Firm, 12 Angry Men, Erin Brockovich, My Cousin Vinny, and more!

If you have any feedback you would like to share with the hosts, please send us an email at appealpodcast@gmail.com.

Hosts: Cassidy Menard and Max Gross

Editing: Max Gross

Music: Machinery by Eddy

We respectfully acknowledge the Lekwungen peoples on whose traditional territory the University of Victoria stands and the Songhees, Esquimalt and WSÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.

Straight to the Amygdala: Exploring the real cost of true crime

Tom speaks with Professor Rebecca Johnson about the modern true crime boom, its effects on victims and their families and whether it might actually be a good thing.

If you have any feedback you would like to share with the hosts, please send us an email at appealpodcast@gmail.com.

Guest: Rebecca Johnson

Hosting and editing: Tom Ndekezi

Outro Music: Machinery by Eddy

Theme Song: Logan Aitken

Media Matters, “Common portrayals of Indigenous people”, online (blog): .

We respectfully acknowledge the Lekwungen peoples on whose traditional territory the University of Victoria stands and the Songhees, Esquimalt and WSÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.

Did You Know That You Have Tenancy Rights? (The RTA says you do and so de we)

Cassidy and Max speak with four UVic law students about their renting experiences as a jumping off point to inquire more broadly about the scope and application of tenancy rights in BC.

They interview lawyers Robert Patterson and Zuzana Modrovic of the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre (TRAC) and Doug King of the Together Against Poverty Society (TAPS). The conversation touches on vacancy control, eviction notices, tips for the arbitration process, the impact of the housing crisis on supported housing, and more.

For more information about TRAC, visit https://tenants.bc.ca.

For more information about TAPS, visit https://www.tapsbc.ca.

If you have any feedback you would like to share with the hosts, please send us an email at appealpodcast@gmail.com.

Hosts: Cassidy Menard and Max Gross

Editing: Cassidy Menard

Production: Cassidy Menard, Max Gross, and Kai Fig Taddei

Theme song: Logan Aitken

Music: Machinery by Eddy

We respectfully acknowledge the Lekwungen peoples on whose traditional territory the University of Victoria stands and the Songhees, Esquimalt and WSÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.

Wonderfully PLAIN: Access to justice and the plain language legal writing movement

Tom talks about the problems with “legalese” and the rise of the plain language legal writing movement, before interviewing Cheryl Stephens, the founder of Plain Language Association International (PLAIN). Together they discuss ways to simplify legal language, the importance of plain language drafting and learn some new Scrabble words.

If you have any feedback you would like to share with the hosts, please send us an email at appealpodcast@gmail.com.

Guests: Cheryl Stephens

Hosting and editing: Tom Ndekezi

Outro Music: Machinery by Eddy

Sound Effects: Kevin MacLeod

Theme Song: Logan Aitken

Tim Sandle, “Report finds only 1 percent reads ‘Terms & Conditions’”, (29 January 2020), online: www.digitaljournal.com .

We respectfully acknowledge the Lekwungen peoples on whose traditional territory the University of Victoria stands and the Songhees, Esquimalt and WSÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.

A Conversation with Supreme Court Justice O’Bonsawin

Join Cassidy and Patrick in conversation with the Honourable Michelle O’Bonsawin, the first Indigenous justice to serve on the Supreme Court of Canada and the court’s most recent appointee. Justice O’Bonsawin shares anecdotes about her career prior to the SCC, talks emerging issues in the law, and gives listeners a sense of her life outside of the courtroom. Stay tuned after the interview for a debrief with the hosts about the experience.

A special thank you to the UVic FemLaw Club for their contributions.

If you have any feedback you would like to share with the hosts, please send us an email at appealpodcast@gmail.com.

Guests: The Honourable Michelle O’Bonsawin

Hosts: Cassidy Menard (she/her) and Patrick McDermott (he/him)

Editing: Patrick McDermott

Music: Machinery by Eddy

We respectfully acknowledge the Lekwungen peoples on whose traditional territory the University of Victoria stands and the Songhees, Esquimalt and WSÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.

Decriminalization & Harm Reduction Part 2: Advocacy in Law School

In part two of our series on Decriminalization & Harm Reduction, Patrick is joined by members of H.A.R.D. Law for a round table discussion on advocacy in law school. Building upon or previous episode regarding BC’s recent decriminalization of small possession, this episode delves deeper into the role of law students in advocating for these important issues. Our guests share their experiences with advocating for harm reduction and decriminalization in law school, including the formation of H.A.R.D. Law and research projects. Through their stories, we gain insight into the challenges and opportunities of advocacy work in law school, and the importance of using legal education to progressive social change.

To obtain copies of the zines discussed in this episode, email hardlawuvic@gmail.com.

If you have any feedback you would like to share with the hosts, please send us an email at appealpodcast@gmail.com

Guests: Katie Curry, Hillary Mutch, Declan McGovern, Sean Price, and James Mager

Hosts: Patrick McDermott (he/him)

Editing: Patrick McDermott

Theme Song by Logan Aitken

Interstitials: Machinery by Eddy