2019 Walter Owen Book Prize winner announced
OTTAWA, Dec. 16, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Canadian Foundation for Legal Research is delighted to announce Jonathan Rudin as winner of the 2019 Walter Owen Book Prize for his publication, Indigenous People and the Criminal Justice System: A Practitioner’s Handbook (Toronto: Emond Publishing).
This prestigious award honours its namesake, who was the first President of the Foundation in 1959. In alternate years, the Prize is awarded to English and French books to recognize excellent legal writing and outstanding new contributions to Canadian legal doctrine.
Founder and current Program Director of Aboriginal Legal Services in Toronto, Mr. Rudin was selected from among 35 nominees to receive a $15,000 cash prize for his ground-breaking contribution to Canadian law literature.
The Foundation’s Prize Jury found Rudin’s treatment of the issues relating to Indigenous people in Canada’s criminal justice system to be painstakingly comprehensive, compassionate and exceptionally articulate. The Jury, comprised of current or retired Justices, university faculty and practicing lawyers, anticipates that Rudin’s book will become an essential primary reference for the subject.
The Canadian Foundation for Legal Research also recognizes the following finalists:
- Robert J. Sharpe for Good Judgment: Making Judicial Decisions
- Philip Girard, Jim Phillips and R. Blake Brown for A History of Law in Canada: Volume One – Beginnings to 1866
- Marvin J. Huberban for A Practitioner’s Guide to Commercial Arbitration
- Arthur Peltomaa for Understanding Unconstitutionality: How a Country Lost its Way – An Essay in Three Parts
Michelle C. Awad, Q.C., Chair of The Canadian Foundation for Legal Research, extended her thanks and congratulations to this year’s winners and finalists. “Book Prize winners and finalists have produced works that are invaluable to the entire legal community in Canada. We offer our heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Rudin for developing a pivotal guide for practitioners who work with Canada’s Indigenous population.”
For more information about the Walter Owen Book Prize and The Canadian Foundation for Legal Research, please visit www.cflr-fcrj.ca.
General Editors: Brian H. Greenspan and Justice Vincenzo Rondinelli
Indigenous people are the most over-represented population in Canada’s criminal justice system. Their experiences within the system are interwoven with issues of colonialism and discrimination. Indigenous People and the Criminal Justice System takes an expansive view of these issues and their impact to give lawyers and judges the knowledge necessary for a deeper understanding of this area of the law.
Author Jonathan Rudin provides a practical review of leading case law and day-to-day considerations for practitioners who are working with Indigenous clients. A host of key topics are explored, including but not limited to, major inquiries and cases, Indigenous courts, Aboriginal justice programs, and the challenges surrounding sentencing circles. The text also features a chapter on the evolution of the Gladue principles, highlighting how they extend beyond sentencing to many other functions of the justice system such as bail, corrections, and parole.
Practitioners using this guide will be equipped with invaluable tools and information designed to help them navigate cases involving Indigenous people within the Canadian criminal justice system.
This text is Volume 7 in Emond’s Criminal Law Series.