Sixteen-year-old Alex is a Canadian kid living the American dream. A house with his parents in a leafy suburb, family trips, good schools, and champagne on his brother’s birthday. But when the FBI comes knocking on his door, the high schooler’s world is shattered. His parents are arrested for being Russian secret agents, and the person he thought he was turns out to be a lie. After winding up in R

Willie Blackwater’s abuser is in jail, but for him, justice hasn’t been served. Twenty-eight of Arthur Henry Plint’s victims — including Willie — launch a civil suit to seek damages from the federal government and the United Church of Canada. The trial to hold these authorities vicariously liable for the horrors of residential schools is brutal and explosive, and not everyone makes it out alive. H

Willie Blackwater is just 13 when he holds a knife to his rapist's throat, demanding an end to his recurring abuse. It’s the first time Willie stands up to his residential school supervisor, but it’s far from the last. Years later, after a fateful encounter with a cop, Willie decides to break his silence — joining a group of survivors that help convict Arthur Henry Plint of 18 counts of sexual ass

Nineteen-year-old Gwen Jacob is just trying to catch a breeze when she goes topless during a 1991 heat wave. But after being cat-called and arrested, her simple attempt to stay cool turns into a statement. And when she refuses to pay her fine, she ends up in a court battle that triggers a nationwide debate about sexism, safety and control over women’s bodies. Host Falen Johnson and journalist Clar

The stories behind the legal battles that changed Canada — and the unlikely people who made it happen. Some were sh*t distributors, some were villains, and some were just regular folks dragged into a fight. Each week, host Falen Johnson teams up with a journalist to dig into a case that challenges the status quo, and asks: What kind of person takes on the law? What are the costs? And what would ou

When Dr. Henry Morgentaler starts offering abortions in 1968, he knows he’s breaking the law. Eventually, police move in, shutting down his Montreal clinic, arresting him, and sending him to jail. But instead of backing down, Morgentaler is emboldened, re-opening his clinic to offer thousands more abortions, and even performing a procedure on live TV, on Mother’s Day. Host Falen Johnson and journa

After three court battles and jail time in Quebec, Dr. Henry Morgentaler sets his sight on offering abortions across Canada. He’s attacked with garden shears, his Toronto clinic is firebombed, and he and his staff are arrested. But with a new Charter of Rights and Freedoms in place, his legal defence finds a new audience —at the Supreme Court of Canada. Host Falen Johnson and journalist Julie Iret

Gurbaj Singh Multani is just playing basketball when the ceremonial dagger that symbolizes his Sikh faith falls onto the playground of his Montreal school. The next thing the 11-year-old knows, his principal is giving him an ultimatum: hand over his kirpan, a symbol of his Sikh faith, or leave school. Host Falen Johnson and journalist Sonali Karnick take us through the case of Multani v Commission

Donald Marshall Junior just wants a quiet life: hanging out with his girlfriend and fishing for eels in rural Nova Scotia. And who can blame him? The Mi’gmaw man spent 11 years behind bars for a murder he didn’t commit. So when fisheries officers slap him with a ticket for selling eels without a licence, he’s dragged into a new fight. And this one’s for his people. Host Falen Johnson unpacks R v M

After twenty-two years behind bars, David Milgaard finally gets to speak his truth before the Supreme Court of Canada: he didn’t kill Gail Miller. And the new evidence his mother Joyce has been gathering can be heard. Host Falen Johnson and journalist Laura Lynch bring us the culmination of R v Milgaard — a case Laura covered at the Supreme Court in the 1990s. She recounts the courtroom drama — fr

David Milgaard is no angel, a high school drop out who likes to party. But the 17-year-old swears he’s not a killer, even after his 1969 conviction for the rape and murder of nurses aid Gail Miller. His mother Joyce believes him — and starts working to prove it. Host Falen Johnson and journalist Laura Lynch tell the epic tale of R v Milgaard. We hear about David’s life in the bowels of a notorious

If you’ve ever had a cheeseburger delivered in the middle of the night, you might find it hard to believe there was a time when shopping on Sundays was against the law. But back in 1982, a plucky Calgary drug store decided to flout that law, got slapped with a ticket, and inadvertently changed the way Canadians shop, forever. Host Falen Johnson and journalist Allison Dempster bring us the story of

Teenage Leticia, feeling alienated from her mostly white community, starts getting into trouble. But when her adoptive mother threatens to send her back to the child welfare system — the 13 year old is shocked. Would she really give up the child she fought all the way to the Supreme Court to adopt? Host Falen Johnson and journalist Dawna Dingwall unpack the impact of the court judgement on Leticia

After years of legal wrangling, the Supreme Court of Canada is set to decide Leticia's fate — will she stay with her former foster parents or go back to her First Nation with her birth mother? With more and more Indigenous children being put into care outside their communities, the decision unearths broader questions about who gets to decide what is best for a child — and what is really best for L

Leticia is just an infant when she’s taken into foster care. But by the time she’s a year old, a legal battle over who should raise her is brewing, with her birth mother pushing to take her back to her First Nation and her foster parents saying she belongs with them. Host Falen Johnson sets the stage for journalist Dawna Dingwall and Leticia Racine to travel back to southwest Manitoba — where they

MR. JEAN MARC RICHARD HAS WON A CASH PRIZE OF $833,337! In 1999, a letter with this claim from Time Magazine lands in a Montreal man’s mailbox. Most people would call it junk mail and toss it, but Jean Marc Richard is determined to get his promised payout, launching a court battle with one of North America’s biggest publishers. Host Falen Johnson and journalist Craig Desson rip open the case of Ri

When Delwin Vriend’s legal battle lands in the Supreme Court of Canada, public debate turns ugly. And like it or not, Delwin and his legal team become the faces of the battle to protect sexual orientation; heroes to some, and villains to others. Host Falen Johnson and journalist Clare Bonnyman bring us behind the scenes of the fateful SCC case, Vriend v Alberta, and a ruling that breaks new ground

Delwin Vriend isn’t seeking the spotlight. As an introverted gay man, working at an Edmonton Christian school in the 1990s, he keeps a low profile. But when he’s fired for being gay, he knows he needs to push back in a very public way. Host Falen Johnson and journalist Clare Bonnyman recount the case of Vriend v Alberta, and the loud and sometimes lewd court battles that see a judge turn his chair

Dive into the messy and memorable court battles that shaped how Canadians live today, one case at a time. Each week, host Falen Johnson teams up with a journalist to uncover the true stories of convicts, sh*t disturbers and ordinary folks who decided to challenge the law and ended up changing history. New episodes weekly from Tuesday, September 16 to November 4, 2025.