January 9th meeting – We, the Jury.

Events, Meetings

When all goes well, juries make decisions based on the evidence and the law but research shows that jurors are swayed by other factors.  What are those factors?  And what are the implications for justice?

The popular heroic view of juries come from movies like “12 Angry Men”, where a single juror manages to change the minds of the other jurors.  How likely is this in reality?

Join Evelyn Maeder, an expert in jury research, at our January 9th meeting as she discusses

* the structure and differences in the jury systems of Canada and the US.

* the influence of legal and extralegal factors on juror decision making

* special topics within jury research, such as juror decision making in capital and insanity defence trials.

Evelyn is an Assistant Professor in the Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Carleton University, and is also cross-appointed in the Department of Psychology. She studies the influence of psychology on the law and legal decision-making, particularly with respect to juries and public policy.  Her current research projects include studying the effects of extralegal information (including defendant race, victim attractiveness, and defendant gang affiliation) on juror decision-making, legal decision-making in NCRMD trials, and the effects of race salience in the criminal courtroom.  She is the director of the Legal Decision-Making Lab at Carleton, and her work is funded by SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada) and APLS (American Psychology-Law Society).

 

Annual Christmas Dinner – Dec 12th

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Be sure to reserve a place at this year’s annual Christmas Dinner with special guest Tim Wynne-Jones.

Where: KS on the Keys, 1029 Daze Street (South Keys)

When:  Wednesday, December 12th

Time:   Mingling begins at 5:30 p.m.

**To register, click here.

We are extremely pleased to announce this year’s December guest speaker – Tim Wynne-Jones is a two-time Governor General’s Award-winning author, Order of Canada recipient and nominee for the 2012 international Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international honour for children’s authors and illustrators. Tim’s 2011 novel Blink and Caution won the Arthur Ellis Award for best children/YA crime novel and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for 2011. He won his first Arthur Ellis for the Boy in the Burning House, which also won the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 2002, for best young adult mystery.

Tim’s eclectic, pre-author years included stints as:  band member in several rock groups (Boogie Dick and Alabaster, to name two), fine arts student, book designer and owner of a graphic design firm. He wrote his first novel Odd’s End in 1978 while in the Masters Fine Arts program at York University – it won the Seal First Novel award along with the $50,000 prize, making him believe that ‘this writing thing might be fun’.

Tim lives in a house that he designed in Perth, Ontario on 76 acres of ‘rough and tumble land’ that has figured prominently in his writing over the last twenty years.  He spent most of last year ‘playing hooky’ overseas with his wife Amanda Lewis but is now back at his computer, working on a new manuscript. For more information about Tim, his travels and his writing, please visit his website.

Books will be available for purchase.

November 14th Meeting – 7pm Library and Archives

Events, Meetings

In the Line of Fire:  PTSD and Law Enforcement Officers

Syd Gravel is a retired Staff Sergeant from the Ottawa Police Service and is one of the founding fathers of “Robin’s Blue Circle”, a post-shooting trauma team that assists officers in working their way through the trauma of death or near-death work-related incidents. The Circle was first established in 1988. Syd has personally assisted over 40 officers survive near-death incidents over a period of 12 years.

 Syd is a 31-year veteran of the Ottawa Police Service. In his book, 56 Seconds, he tells the story of how his life took a dramatic turn when he was involved in a shooting. He shares information on how he survived post-traumatic stress disorder – PTSD – as a two-time shootist, during his years of work as a front-line police officer. The book describes how his healthy survival was based on a solid foundation of peer support, friends, family and medical practitioners.

Syd Gravel was a keynote speaker at the First Canadian Forum on Traumatic Stress Conference, Surviving Post-Shooting Trauma, in Toronto, Ontario. He was a guest lecturer for Correctional Services Canada, on Wellness and Traumatic Stress, in Kingston, Ontario. He was the keynote speaker at the International Conference of Conservation Officers, Stress Management and its Realities, in Ottawa, Ontario.

 In 2007, Syd was inducted as a Member of the Order Of Merit (M.O.M.) in Policing.

 “In 1987, Syd was involved in a very traumatic incident in which a robbery suspect lost his life. The event deeply affected Syd. To his credit he developed a comprehensive Police Peer Support Network on dealing with PTSD. It is Syd’s legacy to the Ottawa Police.”

 – Brian Ford, Chief of the Ottawa Police Service, 1993-2000.

October 10 meeting 7-9 p.m. Library & Archives

Meetings,

Rapid Reads books are a growing phenomenon both in the adult and young adult market. Writers as diverse as Minnette Walters, Alexander McCall Smith, Terry Jones, and Karen Slaughter, have delivered their own mini-masterpieces.

Rapid Reads or Quick Reads books are geared toward reluctant readers whether adult or young adult. Though the popularity goes beyond those who ‘hate to read’. These short novels can be found in the classroom, libraries, even prisons. Come out for October’s meeting where novelists and CCW members Brenda Chapman, Barbara Fradkin, and Jeff Ross will speak about the Rapid Reads market in Canada, their experiences writing in this format, and the publishing possibilities.

Pillar Society

Events
Pan Am Flight 103 was blown out of the sky over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21, 1988, killing 270 people and changing the way the world looked at terrorism. Twelve years later, following a lengthy and complex investigation, a Scottish court brought two Libyan intelligence officers to trial in the Netherlands.  Al Megrahi was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.  Three years ago, he was released on compassionate grounds and returned to Libya after serving 8.5 years.  In May of this year he died. But the story does not end there.  Both Scotland and the US are currently perusing a renewed investigation to identify all those responsible for this gruesome crime.
On October 25, 2012 our next speaker will be retired FBI Special Agent Dick Marquise who led the U.S. Investigative Task Force which included the FBI, Department of Justice and the Central Intelligence Agency. He managed all aspects of the investigation and led it through the return of indictments in 1991. Although it wasn’t until January 2001 that Megrahi was convicted, Marquise also played an active role throughout the trial.
Dick will provide a rare glimpse into the inner workings of a major international criminal investigation and outlines the organizational structure the United States and Scotland put in place to address this international crime, now a model for international interagency cooperation on questions of terrorism.
Mr. Marquise is an expert in the fields of counter terrorism and crisis management, both as an investigator and as a manager. During his 31-year career with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) he was chief of Middle East terrorism which managed FBI investigations worldwide and included his role of Special Agent in Charge of the Oklahoma City Division of the FBI.  In 2006 Dick wrote a book about the bombing called SCOTBOM: Evidence and the Lockerbie Bombing.  This book is an accurate and detailed account of the investigation of this case.
Dick will walk us through this incredible story from finding a needle in a hay stack to the conviction of Megrahi.  The recent downfall of the Gadafhi regime and the death of Megrahi has brought this case to the forefront once again.  Come and hear this incredible story from the person who led this investigation.
Tickets will go on sale through the Shenkman Arts Centre commencing Monday, September 10, 2012, 10:00.    Please note that all tickets will be for reserved seating.
The ticket price for this Speakers Series event is $30.00 which includes all taxes.
When ordering tickets you MUST provide the promotion / access code: Libya
You will not be able to obtain tickets if you fail to provide the promotion / access code. This is a private, non-publicized event but colleagues, family and friends are welcome.
Tickets will be available via:
In Person at the Box Office – 8:30am to 10:30pm, 7 days a week
·         By Phone –  613-580-2700 – 10am to 8pm, 7 days a week
Internet –  www.shenkmanarts.ca/promo  available 24/7
     The Shenkman Arts Centre offers plenty of free parking.
As in previous Pillar Society Speakers Series events, program will be:
Reception:    6:00 PM
Doors Open: 6:30 PM
Presentation: 7:00 PM
Break:          8:15 PM
Presentation followed by Q&A’s 9:30 – 10:00 PM
We anticipate a strong turnout for this presentation.  Don’t delay ordering your tickets.
If you wish further information about this event, please feel free to contact either:
Don Mahar, National President
Bob Barrass, National Vice President

Peggy Blair, Brenda Missen, and C. B. Forrest

Events

The Devil’s Dust was chosen by Books on Beechwood for CBC’s July Book Panel. Don’t miss a reading and scone-eating next week!

Join Books on Beechwood and three local mystery authors, Peggy Blair, Brenda Missen, and C. B. Forrest, who will be reading from their latest novels at The Scone Witch, 35 Beechwood Avenue, on Tuesday, September 18 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm.
The $12 admission fee covers a scone dinner, dessert, and coffee or tea.

(Fees to be paid at the door at The Scone Witch.) Admission is limited to 25 people.

Please phone Books on Beechwood to reserve a seat, 613-742-5030.
Or e-mail staff@booksonbeechwood.ca.

The Walker on the Cape Book Launch

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Baico Publishing and Mike Martin are pleased to announce the release of “The Walker on theCape”. This is the first in a series of stories featuring RCMP Sgt. Winston Windflower, a Cree from Northern Alberta who finds himself stationed in Grand Bank,Newfoundland.

Except from the back cover of “The Walker on theCape”

A man’s body is found on the Cape overlooking Grand Bank,Newfoundland. At first everyone thinks it’s a heart attack or stroke. But then it is discovered that he was poisoned. Who would do this and why? Finding that out falls to Sergeant Winston Windflower of the RCMP along with his trusted side-kick Eddie Tizzard.  Along the way they discover that there are many more secrets hidden in this small community and powerful people who want to keep it that way.

Windflower also discovers two more things; a love of living in a smallNewfoundlandcommunity that is completely different from his up-bringing in a Northern Alberta reserve and maybe the love of his life. He gets a taste of Newfoundland food and hospitality as well as a sense of how crime and corruption can linger beneath the surface or hide in the thick blanket of fog that sometimes creeps in from the nearby Atlantic Ocean.

Mike Martin was born in St. John’s,Newfoundland and now lives and writes in Ottawa. This is his first fiction book. He is a long time freelance writer and the author of “Change the Things You Can: Dealing with Difficult People.”

For more information or to obtain a review copy please contact Mike Martin at mike54martin@sympatico.ca or visitwww.walkeronthecape.com

September 12th meeting 7-9 pm Library & Archives

Meetings

September 12th Meeting:  Guest Speaker Gary Houldsworth CFE – Private Investigator Specializing in Fraud

We are starting the season off with a dynamic special guest speaker – Gary Houldsworth heads up Houldworth & Associates, an Ottawa firm with expertise in fraud, loss prevention and risk management. Gary also is a certified instructor who teaches part time at Algonquin College and coordinates the “Public and Private Investigations” studies. Over the years, he’s trained just about everyone in the industry, including security guards, licensed investigators, corporations, governments, and now his biggest challenge, Capital Crime Writers.

Gary will share from his twenty-one year wealth of experience as a professional private investigator. He is  certain to provide a cornucopia of fodder for crime stories so bring your questions and be prepared to discover the fraudulent underbelly of corporations and private businesses.

Wednesday, September 12th from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. @ the Library& Archives Canada. New members are always welcome.

http://www.houldsworthandassociates.com/aboutus.html