FIDS Analysis of Charter Cases in Canadian Law

Description:

Construct a write-up on one of the following Great Constitutional Charter Cases listed on the following page. The purpose of this assignment is to assess thesignificanceandprecedentestablished by each case, and the impact that it had on Canadian Law, and how the Charter is interpreted moving forward.

Success Criteria: You will present the information that you uncover, using theFIDS Analysis modelto explain and

highlight your findings. You should try to answer the bulleted points below to the best of your abilities. Some cases will have more information in one area than another, regardless, it is your job to appropriately and concisely answer each section.

How to Analyze a Supreme Court Case: The FIDS Analysis Model

Facts:

What are the facts of the case? (Summary of the facts of the Case)

Who is involved and what did they do to bring the case to court?

What were the decisions of the lower courts?

Issues: What criminal charges (if any) does this case deal with?

Which section(s)of the Charter has been potentially infringed in the case?

What are the questions the Court is being asked to answer? Is the decision of a lower court being disputed? Why?

Decision:

What did the Supreme Court decide and what were its reasons for the decision(ratio decidendi )?

Did all the judges agree? How many judges dissented (disagreed with the majority)?

Significance:

What is the social significance of the decision? Is there a new test to determine something or a new precedent established regarding laws

or rights? What does it mean to the Canadian public? Justify your response.

Assignment:

Individuals will submit a write-up of up to three pages (no more) answering the questions above. Standard formatting rules apply. Browse through the important charter cases listed below and choose one as your focus

Important Charter Cases

1. R. v. Oakes, February 28, 1986 2. Reference re BC Motor Vehicle Act, December 17, 1985 3. Hunter v. SouthamInc., September 17, 1984 4. R. v. Morgentaler, January 28, 1988 5. Andrews v. Law Society of British Columbia, February 2, 1989

6. R. v. Stinchcombe, November 17, 1991 7. R. v. Sparrow, May 31, 1990 8. Vriend v. Alberta, April 2, 1998 9. Ford v. Quebec, December 15, 1988