The Top 25 Most Influential lawyer dissects policing, policy gaps and digital evidence failures
Wrongful accusations in sexual assault and domestic violence cases have become what criminal defence lawyer Joseph Neuberger has called a “hidden crisis” in Canada’s justice system, a problem he says is being fuelled by politics, police culture, and blind spots in how digital evidence is handled.
Neuberger, a Toronto criminal defence lawyer recently recognized by Canadian Lawyer as one of the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers, sees the crisis from the front lines. Over the last two decades, his practice has “really morphed into defending mostly sexual and domestic cases,” much of it arising from high-conflict relationships and divorces. He now estimates that almost all his caseload falls into this category and says his firm produces a sexual assault update newsletter because “we think it's really important that everybody is up to date on the changes in the law.”
One recent case crystallized his concerns. His client, a husband charged with abusing his wife, was portrayed as a coercive, violent partner until the defence forced a closer look at the evidence. “I think there’s been a chronic lack of recognition that men in domestic relationships can be abused and can be victims of both violence or emotional abuse,” he says, after courts accepted digital records and expert material showing that the complainant’s account did not match the record.
For Neuberger, the investigative failures...
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