One of the most frustrating aspects of any parole hearing – especially for clients and even many lawyers – is that the same protections that apply at trial and before […]
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Welcome to Mr. Sergio Della Fortuna
Some of the earliest parole hearings I conducted were before Sergio Della Fortuna. He was on the Ontario Parole Board as a Member and as Vice-Chair for 18 years. I’m […]
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Jail Phones – Always Critical
If you’ve ever gone to jail, had someone you care about in jail, or tried to serve a client in jail, then you already know about phones. Phones are everything. […]
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Honesty in a Parole Hearing
A lot of the time I spend preparing clients for their parole hearings goes to a basic issue – getting them to the point where they believe they can tell […]
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Provincial or Federal Parole – Which is “Better?”
I’ve recently taken on a client who is on a two year sentence – just barely enough to be in the federal rather than the provincial system. He indicates that […]
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Covid Alone Won’t Get You Parole in Ontario
My associate Rachel Neizer recently drew my attention back to this article in the Toronto Star. Alyshah Hasham produced some really great coverage of how the pandemic has affected the […]
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Outbreaks Continue Pretty Much Everywhere
Somewhere along the line, where jails are concerned, the definition of “outbreak” became meaningless. In the early days of the pandemic, I recall both official memos from institutional authorities, and […]
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Court of Appeal Addresses Covid and Parole
I have been overdue to write something about this case for a long while. It’s the sort of case that says something very important and yet it’s hard to know […]
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Inmates Still Missing Access to Staff and Programs in Jail
The problems have been going on for so long inmates are starting to get used to it like it’s completely normal. No access to parole officers in jail, no access […]
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Parole Hearings by Remote
One side effect of Covid has been a wholesale shift to doing everything remotely that can possibly be done that way. Parole is no exception. Since March of 2020, hearings […]
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