Book Review: Michel Proulx and David Layton, "Ethics and Canadian Criminal Law"

Abstract

It is a rare book that can appeal to both the scholarly and practical sides of the bar. It is a rare book that can become a true source of the law. It is a rare book that truly challenges the legal profession to do better while also providing it with the foundations for such reform. Ethics and Canadian Criminal Law is such a book.

The book is written in magisterial style by Michel Proulx, a former criminal defence lawyer and member of the Quebec Court of Appeal since 1989, and David Layton, a former law clerk to Chief Justice Brian Dickson and a defence lawyer. After a helpful and substantive introduction, the book contains twelve chapters. Most of the chapters contain numerous short but demanding case studies. Each chapter ends with a helpful summary of numbered propositions and an extensive list of further readings.