Category: Season 4

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

In part one of our series on Decriminalization & Harm Reduction, we delve into the controversial drug exemption policy that came into effect on January 31st in BC. Patrick and Max talk to Sandra Ka Hon Chu, Co-Executive Director at HIV Legal Network, and Nathan Crompton from VANDU, who share insight into how this exemption came to be and their perspectives on the policy’s effectiveness. Throughout the episode, we examine the challenges and opportunities that the policy presents, including issues around stigma, how this might impact the policing and prosecution of drug trafficking, and the ongoing toxic drug crisis.

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) & Max Gross (he/him)

Editing: Patrick McDermott & Max Gross

Theme Song by Logan Aitken

Interstitials: Machinery by Eddy

Meet the “cool kids” of the Appeal law journal.

In this episode, the season 4 hosts of Stare Indecisis introduce themselves to help listeners better understand their positionality in relation to the subject-matter of future episodes. They then move to a discussion of land acknowledgements: what they mean to them personally, and how they define them in the context of law school and this season’s podcast episodes.

Lastly, they answer questions from the New York Times article “The 36 Questions That Lead to Love.” The hosts answer everything from “what is your favourite podcast?” to “when did you last cry?” Tune in for unhinged speculation about surfing with dementia, whether they’d recognize Stephen King on the street, and the likelihood of Patrick dying on the toilet.

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

Hosts: Cassidy Menard (she/her), Tom Ndekezi (he/him), Patrick McDermott (he/him)

Editing: Patrick McDermott

Music: Machinery by Eddyhttp://freemusicarchive.org/music/eddy/2_Damn_Loud/Machinary_NO_VOX

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.