1 or 2 lawyers from local law firms volunteer to provide summary legal advice, procedural information, help with trials, motions and other appearances and help completing forms.
The service is generally first come, first served, but subject to discretion individuals may be allowed to jump the queue.
What Should you Do?
While you wait, please fill out an Application Form.
You are also required to carefully read and sign the Limited Retainer and Waiver of Liability Form.
Things you Should Know
Be prepared to wait, most interviews take approximately 30 minutes. Take this time to organize your thoughts and to prepare some questions for the lawyer.
Occasionally, a conflict of interest may arise. This occurs most often when a lawyer or their firm already represent the opposing party. When this happens, you may be required to come back another day.
When and Where
Tuesday 10 am – 2 pm
Wednesday 12 pm – 4 pm
Thursday 9 am – 12 pm (9 am to 12 pm shift available ONLY the first 3 Thursdays of the month)
Curious about rent increases? Take a look at the video Dealing with Massive Rent Increases from CTV Consumer Watch with Laura Lowe. We were interviewed for the segment, and discuss what can happen when a fixed term tenancy ends. You can check out our Can My Landlord app for more information about your rights too!
Amendments to the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) recently came into force. CPLEA has updated our Canadian Legal FAQs website to reflect these changes.
A package of new YCJA resources has also been created. The package includes a poster , a lesson plan for teachers and the video below:
CPLEA is pleased to announce the launch of the new LawCentral Schools website. LawCentral Schools is a trusted go-to resource for Alberta teachers. The new website includes over one hundred links to law related classroom resources organized by their relation to the Alberta curriculum.
The LawCentral Schools website has a long list of new features including:
a slick new design with a clean and easy to navigate layout;
an advanced lesson plan search to find classroom resources by subject, legal topics, grade level, and language;
integration with LawNow magazine including a LawNow live feed and links to resources;
embedded video content;
featured lesson plans to promote new resources from CPLEA;
tips for bringing law into the classroom; and
search engine optimization to increase traffic to the site.
Take a look at our new site and be sure to send us your feedback.
Accepting the award from Service Alberta Minister Manmeet S. Bhullar, are Dr. Diane Rhyason, (CPLEA Executive Director), Rochelle Johannson (CPLEA Staff Lawyer) and Ryan Day (CPLEA Youth Program Coordinator)
The Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta (CPLEA) was a recipient of Service Alberta’s Consumer Champion Award of Merit at a ceremony at the legislature on April 8, 2013. CPLEA received the award for its Youth Project – a project designed to increase the legal knowledge of youth, particularly marginalized youth in the province.
The Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta (CPLEA) with the support of the Alberta Law Foundation started a project in October 2011 to empower vulnerable youth in Alberta by educating them about their legal rights. Through consultation with intermediaries that work with marginalized youth, CPLEA identified a need for information about consumer issues such as renting, mobile phones, payday loans, and debt. Over the past year and a half CPLEA has developed resources and delivered training sessions for intermediaries in response to this need for consumer information. Some of these resources include:
CPLEA has held seven “Renting 101” training sessions by lawyers for intermediaries and vulnerable youth with more scheduled in the near future. A Renting 101 webinar is scheduled for May and registration is still open. CPLEA has also displayed at youth events such as the Making Connections Family Resource Fair, YOUCAN’s International Youth Day Celebration, and the Edmonton Queer Prom.
Do you want to know how our justice system works in Alberta?
Do you want to take a tour of your courthouse?
Get answers to your legal questions?
Watch a mock trial?
Law Day is family friendly, so bring the kids and learn about the law!
April 13, 2013 in Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge and Red Deer.
Canadians are used to reading American books and watching TV programs where lawyers for parties in court actions amass material about potential jurors. John Grisham’s The Runaway Jury comes to mind.
However, in Canada, the Ontario Court of Appeal recently overturned a murder conviction because it ruled that the Crown prosecutors had inside information about potential jurors which gave them an advantage over the defence.
The Court wrote
“This mismatch came about in large measure because of breaches by the Crown of its own policies, misuse of police databases and breaches of privacy legislation. There can be no doubt that the public and an accused would view with grave suspicion a jury selection process that unfairly favours the Crown.”
A memorandum of practice dating back to 2006 advised Crown counsel that they could only request police criminal record checks and that if the results indicated that a potential juror might not be impartial, that the information should be disclosed to the defence.
Shortly after the Court of Appeal decision, the Supreme Court of Canada weighed in on the issue. It ruled that authorities should be allowed to do limited background checks on potential jurors for past criminal convictions and pending criminal charges, and that relevant information the Crown receives must be turned over to the defence.
Article originally published in LawNow magazine, March/April 2013 issue. For more articles on contemporary issues with a legal perspective, see the LawNow website at http://www.lawnow.org/.
If you share our enthusiasm and commitment to public legal education, consider writing on one of the topics in our Call for Contributors, or contact us with your own suggestions for themes, special reports, and columns. We would also welcome your blog posts, either about your article or another article that you see in LawNow.
If you know someone who would be a great contributor to LawNow, please circulate the Call for Contributors to them. First-time contributors are most welcome and help us to keep the magazine fresh and relevant.
Please contact us to let us know how we can best work together on the next volume of LawNow. We hope to gather responses by April 19, 2013 but we are always open to your ideas, suggestions and offers to contribute.
The content contained on this website represents the opinion of the author of each post or comment alone, and not the opinion of the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta, the Legal Resource Centre of Alberta Ltd., or any of its funders.
The information and opinion found on this website does not constitute legal advice, and we make no claims or promises about its accuracy or completeness. If you require legal advice, you should consult a lawyer.
Canadians are used to reading American books and watching TV programs where lawyers for parties in court actions amass material about potential jurors. John Grisham’s The Runaway Jury comes to mind.
