Putting the State on Trial: The Policing of Protest During the G20 Summit(Law and Society)

Canada is often lauded as a model democracy that values the constitutional rights of its citizens. So when over a thousand people – most of whom were peaceful protesters or hapless bystanders – were violently arrested and then detained without charge during the G20 Summit in Toronto in 2010, many Canadians felt shock and outrage. Putting the State on Trial: The Policing of Protest during the G20 Summit examines the political, social, and economic conditions that "allowed" the policing of the summit to culminate in human and civil rights violations. Written by a multi-disciplinary group of scholars and legal practitioners, this book contextualizes events before, during, and after the summit from a range of perspectives. Although the G20 protests serve as a point of departure in every chapter, the contributing authors engage with larger questions about the control of dissent, the impact of the securitization and internationalization of Canadian politics, the implications of legal uncertainty, and the accountability vacuum.

Table of Contents:
Introduction / Margaret E. Beare and Nathalie Des Rosiers Part 1: The Context of the G20 Summit: How Predictable Was the Protest's Outcome? 1 States, Protest, and Global Capitalism: Putting the G20 in Perspective / Leo Panitch 2 Reorganizing Repression: Policing Protest, 1995-2012 / Lesley Wood 3 Post-9/11 Policing of Protests: Symbolic but Illusory Law Reform and Real Accountability Gaps / Kent Roach 4 Anatomy of a Breach of the Peace: The CCLA and the G20 Summit / Abby Deshman and Nathalie Des Rosiers 5 The Rule of Law on Trial: Police Powers, Public Protest, and the G20 / James Stribopoulos Part 2: Policing the Event: The Role of Law, the Failures of Law, and Civil Society 6 Policing as Spectacle and the Politics of Surveillance at the Toronto G20 / Kate Milberry and Andrew Clement 7 Integrated Security Networks: Less, Not More, Accountability / Veronica Kitchen and Kimberly Rygiel 8 Investigative Detention and Street Checks / Howard F. Morton 9 International Law and the Silencing of Social Protest / Bernard Duhaime and Jacinthe Poisson 10 Pacification through "Intelligence" during the Toronto G20 / Nicholas Lamb and George S. Rigakos Part 3: After the Event: The Continuing Impact -- Accountability Issues and Lessons to be Learned 11 Jury Nullification in Canadian Political Protest Trials: Turning Loose the "12 Angry Men" / Paul Burstein 12 Mass Arrest/Mass Epiphany: G20 Policing and the Canadian Wakeup / Julian Falconer and Meaghan Daniel 13 Perceptions of a Protest: Through the Eyes of the Newspapers / Ian Urquhart 14 Making the Best of Bad Choices: Inquiry Versus Investigations in the G20 Case / Liora Salter and Colleen Matthews Conclusion: The Future of Protests in Canada / Nathalie Des Rosiers Appendix; Bibliography; Index

About the Author :
Margaret E. Beare is a professor of sociology and law at York University and Osgoode Hall Law School. Nathalie Des Rosiers is the dean of the Faculty of Law, Common Law Section, at the University of Ottawa. Abigail C. Deshman is the director of the Public Safety Program with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. Contributors: Ronald G. Atkey, Paul Burstein, Andrew Clement, Meaghan Daniel, Bernard Duhaime, Julian Falconer, Veronica Kitchen, Nicholas Lamb, Colleen Matthews, Kate Milberry, Howard F. Morton, Leo Panitch, Jacinthe Poisson, George S. Rigakos, Kent Roach, Kimberly Rygiel, Liora Salter, James Stribopoulos, Ian Urquhart, and Lesley Wood.