R v Wakabayashi

R v Wakabayashi

Rex v Wakabayashi, [1928] 39 BCR 310
Ichizo Wakabayashi pled guilty to selling cocaine and morphine without an appropriate license, and received three years imprisonment. He then initiated habeas corpus proceedings to challenge this sentence, arguing that the Opium and Narcotics Act, 1923, ch. 22, was ultra vires the Dominion Parliament. Justice W.A. Macdonald declared that the Act was “within the competence of the Dominion Parliament,” and refused Wakabayashi’s application for release.
Plaintiffs
The Crown
Defendants
Judges
Other

Metadata

Title

R v Wakabayashi

Credits

Researcher: Monique F. Ulysses
Researcher: Lauren Chalaturnyk
Metadata author: Connell Parish
Metadata author: Gordon Lyall
Publication Information: See Terms of Use for publication and licensing information.
Source: British Columbia Supreme Court. British Columbia Reports. 1928.

Terminology

Readers of these historical materials will encounter derogatory references to Japanese Canadians and euphemisms used to obscure the intent and impacts of the internment and dispossession. While these are important realities of the history, the Landscapes of Injustice Research Collective urges users to carefully consider their own terminological choices in writing and speaking about this topic today as we confront past injustice. See our statement on terminology, and related sources here.