The Docket Podcast cover of cartoon judge hitting gavel and producing lightning sparks

The Docket Podcast

Criminal lawyer Michael Spratt and legal expert Emilie Taman discuss issues at the intersection of law, politics, and policy. What happens in our courts and the halls of power affects you.

Feed your brain with answers to your most burning political and legal questions.

Subscribe to The Docket on iTunes to get the latest episode pumped straight into your earbuds.

Join the Docket’s discord channel to chat and listen to live recordings.

The Zameer Acquittal
May 1, 2024
Listen
Five Four Pod on why the Supreme Court Sucks
March 24, 2024
Listen
MAiD Delayed
February 8, 2024
Listen
Ontario Judicial Appointments
December 3, 2023
Listen
Rachel Gilmore
October 26, 2023
Listen
The Criminal Justice System on Trial
October 2, 2023
Listen
Back from a brief hiatus
September 20, 2023
Listen
Changing Minds on Decriminalization
June 22, 2022
Listen
Trucker Bail
February 27, 2022
Listen
Suing the Truckers
February 13, 2022
Listen
Truck Protests and Crown Juror Friendships
January 30, 2022
Listen
Race in Sentencing
October 17, 2021
Listen
Are the feds really fighting Indigenous kids in court
October 3, 2021
Listen
Beverley McLachlin
September 14, 2021
Listen
Baseball Diversion
August 29, 2021
Listen
Back to School 3
July 26, 2021
Listen
Only FOUR times
June 6, 2021
Listen
Publication Bans: Morrell Andrews won’t be silenced
May 16, 2021
Listen
The Federal Budget Justice Breakdown
May 4, 2021
Listen
Ford’s Pandemic Police State
April 19, 2021
Listen
Prosecuting the Victim
April 6, 2021
Listen
Doug Ford Stacking the Court
March 26, 2021
Listen
Translating Criminal Law with Peter and Penny Sankoff
March 7, 2021
Listen
Life and Death of Decriminalization
March 1, 2021
Listen
Grading the New Justice Bill
February 22, 2021
Listen
The Justice Minister’s new mandate
February 8, 2021
Listen
Media Literacy and Criminal Law
January 24, 2021
Listen
Prisons should be prioritized in COVID vaccinations
January 10, 2021
Listen
Another Minimum Sentence Bites the Dust
October 25, 2020
Listen
Tony Doob on solitary confinement
September 21, 2020
Listen
Andrew Coyne on government ethics
August 15, 2020
Listen
WE Scandal and an Interview with Nader Hasan
August 2, 2020
Listen
Can the Government Halt the Meng Extradition and Should They
June 28, 2020
Listen
Extreme Intoxication, Entrapment, and Police Brutality
June 9, 2020
Listen
Back to High School (again)
May 29, 2020
Listen
Gun Laws, COCIV-19, and The Room
May 18, 2020
Listen
Peter Sankoff on his COVID19 Internships
April 5, 2020
Listen
Covid-19 and the Justice System
March 27, 2020
Listen
Covid-19, Magic Mushrooms, and Conversion Therapy
March 14, 2020
Listen
Peter MacKay vs Nathaniel Erskine-Smith
March 6, 2020
Listen
The Last Word on SNC and Inhumane Jails
January 23, 2020
Listen
SNC is Guilty and the Dougs Drop a Lump of Coal
December 27, 2019
Listen
Doug Ford messes with judicial appointments and the Feds take Indigenous kids to court
December 2, 2019
Listen
Did the Supreme Court say Canadian judges have been too soft on punishment
October 16, 2019
Listen
Live from the Ottawa Podcast Festival
September 4, 2019
Listen
Summer Baseball and Politics
August 6, 2019
Listen
MMIWG Report
June 11, 2019
Listen
Back to High School
May 9, 2019
Listen
Immigration Unfairness
April 19, 2019
Listen
SNC-Lavalin – Please Make It Stop!
April 8, 2019
Listen
SNC updates, Unconstitutional laws, and the Humboldt sentencing
March 24, 2019
Listen
SNC-Lavalin – I am not going to call that liar a liar edition
March 7, 2019
Listen
SNC Lavalin – Jobs, Jobs, Jobs and other Liberal talking points
March 4, 2019
Listen
SNC Lavalin (Part 2), Peeping Teachers, and Pardons
February 25, 2019
Listen
SNC Lavalin
February 19, 2019
Listen
Ottawa Police Trial and Special Guest Emily O’Brien
February 8, 2019
Listen
Cabinet Shuffle Comes For Justice
January 29, 2019
Listen
Louise Arbour on the UN Global Compact on Migration
January 9, 2019
Listen
Victim Fine Surcharge
December 17, 2018
Listen
The Best Fictional Lawyer, Criminology Research, and HIV Policy
December 3, 2018
Listen
Twitter lawsuit, Scheer lunacy, and Pro Bono Ontario
November 19, 2018
Listen
Bradley Barton and Brett Kavanaugh
November 2, 2018
Listen
The Staircase Aftershow – Chapter 8: The Verdict
October 1, 2018
Listen
Notwithstanding Doug Ford
September 12, 2018
Listen
Is the defence of extreme intoxication in sexual-assault cases back?
September 5, 2018
Listen
The Staircase Aftershow – Chapter 7: The Blow Poke Returns
August 27, 2018
Listen
The Staircase Aftershow – Chapter 6: The Prosecution’s Revenge
August 16, 2018
Listen
The Staircase Aftershow – Chapter 5: A Weak Case
August 2, 2018
Listen
The Staircase Aftershow – Special Guest: David Rudolf
July 25, 2018
Listen
The Staircase Aftershow – Chapter 4: A Prosecution Trickery
July 17, 2018
Listen
The Staircase Aftershow – Chapter 3: A Striking Coincidence
July 4, 2018
Listen
The Staircase Aftershow – Chapter 2: Secrets and Lies
June 27, 2018
Listen
The Staircase Aftershow – Chapter 1: Crime or Accident
June 19, 2018
Listen
Minimum Sentences with Senator Kim Pate
June 11, 2018
Listen
Omnibus Legislation and Supreme Court Embargoes
May 29, 2018
Listen
Hockey Licks and A Broken Extradition System
May 10, 2018
Listen
Bold Justice Reform?
April 3, 2018
Listen
Tina Fontaine, Arresting Journalists, and Fishy Crime Stats
March 23, 2018
Listen
Gerald Stanley, Colten Boushie, and Justice
February 12, 2018
Listen
#MeToo and the Law
February 5, 2018
Listen
The Docket’s Year year end Extravaganza
January 2, 2018
Listen
No Warrant, No Text Messages
December 12, 2017
Listen
Who is that new Supreme Court Judge?
November 30, 2017
Listen
A Renowned Lawyer
November 25, 2017
Listen
You Are Tearing Me Apart Lisa!
November 13, 2017
Listen
Sexual Assault Myths and Ontario’s New Bail Policy
November 3, 2017
Listen
Drunk Canoeing and other Stupid laws, Who is the best judge ever, and R. v Suter: with “friend” of the podcast Peter Sankoff
October 11, 2017
Listen
Opioids and Harm Prevention with Leila Attar
September 27, 2017
Listen
Marijuana legalization and Back to School Advice
September 14, 2017
Listen
Trinity Western University and the Supreme Court
August 8, 2017
Listen
Erin O’Toole on Omar Khadr
August 4, 2017
Listen
Omar Khadr
July 17, 2017
Listen
Supreme Court Speculation and Senate Report on Court Delays
July 4, 2017
Listen
Remanding the Victim
June 8, 2017
Listen
JJJ: Juries, Judgements, and Jails
June 2, 2017
Listen
Pot Politics
April 18, 2017
Listen
Politicians playing politics with Justice
March 2, 2017
Listen
The Future of Canada
February 13, 2017
Listen
Live From OttawaU: Plea Bargains – A deal with the Devil?
January 11, 2017
Listen
Renu Mandhane: Ontario’s chief human rights commissioner
December 8, 2016
Listen
The Government in your Bedroom
November 29, 2016
Listen
A New Judge, Racist Police, and Solitary Confinement
November 3, 2016
Listen
New Houses, Strange Cases, and Victim Fines
October 24, 2016
Listen
Vader Verdict, Cameras in Court, and Zombie Laws
September 19, 2016
Listen
Desmond Cole: Police Accountability and Abdirahman Abdi
September 1, 2016
Listen
Senator Baker Returns
August 29, 2016
Listen
Beat the Buzzer: Supreme Court, Terrorism, Police Accountability, and Breaking Making a Murderer News
August 13, 2016
Listen
Pokémon Go and Speedy Trials
July 20, 2016
Listen
Penile Swabs, Cyber Bullying, Trinity Western, and Ezekiel Stephan
July 4, 2016
Listen
Dean Strang
June 27, 2016
Listen
Kim Pate
June 17, 2016
Listen
Making a Murderer Road Trip
June 12, 2016
Listen
The Last Two Weeks and Medical Assistance in Dying
June 7, 2016
Listen
Animal Justice with Nathaniel Erskine-Smith
May 13, 2016
Listen
A Miscarriage of Justice, The Necessities of Life, and Peter MacKay
May 9, 2016
Listen
Duffy Not Guilty!
April 29, 2016
Listen
Louise Arbour on the United Nations Special Assembly Drugs
April 25, 2016
Listen
Supervised Injection Sites and The Latest Supreme Court Decision
April 18, 2016
Listen
Shower Jails and Blushing Over Privacy
April 4, 2016
Listen
Rap, Bail, and Power
March 24, 2016
Listen
Women in Criminal Law, Jail Conditions, and More Pot
March 12, 2016
Listen
The Docket: Pot, Sex, and Open Ice Holes
March 1, 2016
Listen
Making A Murderer After Show – Episode 10
February 22, 2016
Listen
The Docket: Making A Murderer After Show – Episode 9
February 15, 2016
Listen
The Docket: Making A Murderer After Show – Episode 8
February 12, 2016
Listen
The Docket: Making a Murderer After Show – Episode 7
February 7, 2016
Listen
The Docket: Making a Murderer After Show – Special Guest Scott Fairgrieve
February 4, 2016
Listen
The Docket: Making a Murderer After Show – Episode 6
February 1, 2016
Listen
The Docket: Making a Murderer After Show – Bonus Episode – Jerry Buting Interview
January 26, 2016
Listen
The Docket: Making a Murderer After Show – Episode 5
January 24, 2016
Listen
The Docket: Making a Murderer After Show – Episode 4
January 22, 2016
Listen
The Docket: Making a Murderer After Show – Episode 3
January 17, 2016
Listen
The Docket: Making A Murderer After Show – Episode 2
January 14, 2016
Listen
The Docket: Making A Murderer After Show – Episode 1
January 11, 2016
Listen
The Docket – Episode 16: In the news and in the courts: violence against women
January 9, 2016
Listen
The Docket – Episode 15: Star Wars and the Law with Gib Van Ert
December 22, 2015
Listen
The Docket – Episode 14: Peter Sankoff on the Duffy Trial
November 11, 2015
Listen
The Docket – Episode 13: Mark Bourrie
August 7, 2015
Listen
The Docket – Episode 12: Carding
July 31, 2015
Listen
The Docket – Episode 11: Lee Chapelle
April 14, 2015
Listen
The Docket – Episode 10: Tony Spears
March 8, 2015
Listen
The Docket – Episode 9: Justin Ling and Terrorism
January 31, 2015
Listen
The Docket – Episode 8: Victims’ Rights with Steve Sullivan
December 4, 2014
Listen
The Docket – Episode 7: How a Bill Becomes a Law
October 31, 2014
Listen
The Docket – Episode 6: Bail, Police Record Checks and the Presumption of Innocence
July 25, 2014
Listen
The Docket – Episode 5: Prostitution and Bill C-36
July 16, 2014
Listen
The Docket – Episode 4: Dustin Milligan Author of ‘The Charter for Children’
June 18, 2014
Listen
The Docket – Episode 3: Senator George Baker
May 30, 2014
Listen
The Docket – Episode 2: Adam Dodek and Carissima Mathen on the Government vs. the Supreme Court
May 9, 2014
Listen
The Docket – Episode 1: Michael Geist and Internet Privacy
May 2, 2014
Listen