by David Murray, Department of History, University of Guelph. Published with University of Toronto Press, 2002.
As a colony, Upper Canada was obliged to adopt the essential elements of the British legal system. But just how did a system designed for a much more sophisticated society function in the wilds of early Canada? Focussing on the border District of Niagara, Professor David Murray offers some surprising and intriguing answers as he demonstrates how legal processes affected Canadian life and how Niagara’s criminal justice system functioned from the bottom up. Based primarily on court records, Colonial Justice integrates the story of individuals caught up in the toils of justice, including fugitive slave Solomon Moseby, with larger themes relating Upper Canadian social developments to contemporary legal issues and criminal trials.
