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## Episode Description
In Episode 194 of Not on Record, seasoned Canadian criminal defense lawyers Joseph Neuberger and Michael Lacy dive deep into the realities of jury trials in Canada. Sparked by a recent National Post article exploring the inner workings of juries, they debate whether they'd choose a jury or a judge-alone trial if charged with a serious offense. The discussion covers the impact of the 2019 abolition of peremptory challenges, the challenges of selecting an impartial jury in today's polarized climate, the importance of storytelling and engagement in jury addresses, cultural shifts affecting civic duty and bias, and why many defense lawyers now lean toward bench trials especially in sexual assault cases. With candid insights from decades of trial experience, dog interruptions, and a call to restore peremptory challenges, this episode is a raw look at the strengths, flaws, and uncertainties of Canada's jury system.
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Sponsored by EasyDNS
https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord
## Episode Description
In Episode 194 of Not on Record, seasoned Canadian criminal defense lawyers Joseph Neuberger and Michael Lacy dive deep into the realities of jury trials in Canada. Sparked by a recent National Post article exploring the inner workings of juries, they debate whether they'd choose a jury or a judge-alone trial if charged with a serious offense. The discussion covers the impact of the 2019 abolition of peremptory challenges, the challenges of selecting an impartial jury in today's polarized climate, the importance of storytelling and engagement in jury addresses, cultural shifts affecting civic duty and bias, and why many defense lawyers now lean toward bench trials especially in sexual assault cases. With candid insights from decades of trial experience, dog interruptions, and a call to restore peremptory challenges, this episode is a raw look at the strengths, flaws, and uncertainties of Canada's jury system.
EP#190 | Redefining Consent: Did the Supreme Court Turn Every Drunk Hookup into Sexual Assault?
Not On Record Podcast
33 minutes 49 seconds
1 month ago
EP#190 | Redefining Consent: Did the Supreme Court Turn Every Drunk Hookup into Sexual Assault?
Joseph and Alper dive into one of the most unsettling sexual assault decisions to come out of the Supreme Court of Canada in years: **R. v. Rioux, 2025 SCC 34**, released the very day they hit record. Still hot off the printer, the judgment sends Joseph’s blood pressure through the roof as he and Alper give their **raw, first reaction** to a 5–4 split decision that effectively rewrites how courts treat **consent, capacity, blackouts, and memory loss** in sexual assault trials.
They walk through the core facts, then zero in on the majority’s treatment of **blackout and memory loss as circumstantial evidence of incapacity**, and the idea that a complainant’s *beliefs and assumptions* about how they “would have acted” can stand in for an actual memory of events. Along the way, they unpack the difference between **actus reus and mens rea**, explain why the distinction between **direct and circumstantial evidence** is being stretched to absurdity, and highlight how this reasoning risks turning ordinary adult sexual behaviour especially where alcohol is involved into a legal minefield.
From Vegas blackout marriages to the realities of human behaviour after a few drinks, Joseph and Alper argue this ruling is **“ripe for abuse”** and dangerously divorced from common sense. With plenty of dark humour, legal nuance, and a few F-bombs, they lay the groundwork for a much deeper doctrinal analysis in Part Two of this “Consent Trilogy.” If you care about due process, evidentiary standards, and the future of sexual assault law in Canada, this is a must-listen.
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Produced by Possibly Correct Media www.PossiblyCorrect.com
Not On Record Podcast
Sponsored by EasyDNS
https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord
## Episode Description
In Episode 194 of Not on Record, seasoned Canadian criminal defense lawyers Joseph Neuberger and Michael Lacy dive deep into the realities of jury trials in Canada. Sparked by a recent National Post article exploring the inner workings of juries, they debate whether they'd choose a jury or a judge-alone trial if charged with a serious offense. The discussion covers the impact of the 2019 abolition of peremptory challenges, the challenges of selecting an impartial jury in today's polarized climate, the importance of storytelling and engagement in jury addresses, cultural shifts affecting civic duty and bias, and why many defense lawyers now lean toward bench trials especially in sexual assault cases. With candid insights from decades of trial experience, dog interruptions, and a call to restore peremptory challenges, this episode is a raw look at the strengths, flaws, and uncertainties of Canada's jury system.
