Some exciting news for WiCCD Members!

In the coming months, we have a huge amount of new content being released weekly on our YouTube Channel so please tune in starting any time early on Saturday mornings!

This new programming began with Kyla Lee’s interview of lawyer Betti White about the intersection of family law and criminal law last week here: https://youtu.be/lLvy9QvATuk

Today, we bring you the first in a two part series on the exciting topic of Habeas Corpus.

She Cares #53 – About Habeas Corpus, Part I – Introduction

This New Release is Available Now Here: https://youtu.be/X1BBf4vB2lI

This area of the law is underutilized but can have huge immediate impact or wide-reaching systemic impact on the lives of prisoners.

Description

In this Episode of She Cares, WiCCD’s Secretary Anita Szigeti hosts Alberta lawyer Amy Matychuk and Toronto lawyer Jessica Orton to discuss habeas corpus applications. Amy Matychuk is an associate lawyer at Marrow Law, where she practices prison justice and police misconduct. She previously ran a solo practice in Calgary called Prison and Police Law. She is called to the bar in Alberta, Nunavut, and the NorthwestTerritories. https://www.marrowlaw.ca/our-circle/02u303e54yhbpt0ygme8ympsci80fe

Jessica Orkin is a partner at Goldblatt Partners who has a broad litigation practice including criminal, civil and administrative law matters, with an emphasis on constitutional, human rights, Aboriginal rights and access to information law matters. https://goldblattpartners.com/our-lawyers/jessica-orkin/ In this Episode, Amy and Jessica unpack the basic principles and practices regarding habeas corpus applications. 

Habeas corpus is a powerful tool that is meant to be available to anyone experiencing a deprivation of liberty who questions the legality of their detention or restriction. It is often, though not exclusively, used by prisoners in litigating issues arising in the context of their detention, such as security levels. 

The Supreme Court of Canada recently decided such an issue in Dorsey 2025 SCC 38 accessible here: https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/21282/index.do – our panel discusses this important new Decision.

Enjoy this series and let us know what you think!