The Complete Brief

  • June 29, 2026

    U.S. birthright citizenship: The meaning of ‘and subject to the jurisdiction thereof’

    In July 1868, when the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment was adopted into the Constitution of the United States, it declared: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.” While initially incorporated into the Constitution to overturn the Scott v. Sandford, 1856 U.S. LEXIS 472 decision and guarantee citizenship to formerly enslaved individuals, the Citizenship Clause has since become the foundation of birthright citizenship in the United States.

  • June 29, 2026

    Why litigator Bruce Thomas deserves recognition as another Canadian soccer hero

    When Canadians celebrated their national team’s dramatic 1-0 victory over South Africa in the Round of 32 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, few were thinking about insurance law. They were celebrating a historic football achievement: a place in the Round of 16, secured by Stephen Eustáquio’s stoppage-time goal and a resilient performance from Jesse Marsch’s squad. Canada’s victory marked one of the country’s greatest sporting moments and set up a Round of 16 meeting with either Morocco or the Netherlands.

  • June 29, 2026

    Banishment from reserve not legal punishment for arson: B.C. Court of Appeal

    Many non-Indigenous Canadians are unaware that within the Indigenous community, many are dissatisfied with their leadership. Some are so jaded that they suspect their leaders are corrupt. This unacknowledged tension may be at the heart of a charge laid against Eddy Walter Cliffe, otherwise known as Hə' Yəł' Kən. He appealed a 21-month jail sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty to arson causing damage to property.

  • June 29, 2026

    Ontario Court of Appeal rejects DNA sample order for discharged offender

    Citing a “meaningful legislative difference” between the treatment and retention of DNA samples taken from convicted offenders and discharged offenders under the DNA Identification Act, the Court of Appeal for Ontario unanimously upheld a lower court appeal decision, rejecting arguments by the Crown to force a discharged offender to provide DNA samples.

  • June 29, 2026

    WILLS - Executors and administrators - Proof of will in solemn form

    Appeal by appellant from an order pronouncing a 2016 will in solemn form. The deceased, Joseph Bernard Szikora, left his estate to his children and former spouse, the respondents, and made no provision for the appellant, his spouse since 1994, consistent with a prenuptial agreement. The respondents petitioned for proof of the will in solemn form.

  • June 29, 2026

    Need for trauma-informed intakes and the practice roadmap

    While the Ahluwalia decision solidified a groundbreaking civil framework for addressing coercive control, Parliament simultaneously built a parallel carceral one (Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, 2026 SCC 16). The federal intention behind Bill C-16 is well-intentioned — aiming to intervene early, recognize psychological containment as violence, and treat coercive control as a precursor to lethal escalation.

  • June 26, 2026

    SCC declines to narrow McNeil disclosure; expunged police misconduct info must be given to defence

    Underscoring the breadth of the constitutional obligation of first-party Crown disclosure to the defence, the Supreme Court of Canada has 7-0 clarified and elaborated on the scope of the duties of Crown and the police to disclose to the accused relevant police disciplinary records, as was previously established by R. v. McNeil, 2009 SCC 3.

  • June 26, 2026

    B.C. Court upholds certification of opioid class action against McKinsey

    The B.C. Court of Appeal has upheld the certification of a proposed class action against consulting giant McKinsey & Co. over allegations that it worked closely with opioid manufacturers and distributors to increase the sale and distribution of opioids in Canada for unsuitable uses.

  • June 26, 2026

    RBC pays over $4M administration penalty for Bank Act violation

    The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) has announced that it applied an administrative monetary penalty of $4.25 million on the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) for violating a consumer provision in the Bank Act.

  • June 26, 2026

    Two members added to Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion

    The Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion has expanded with the appointment of two new members.

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