Courthouse Libraries BC curates not only legal texts and databases, but dynamic research tools that can save you time. Take Rangefindr for instance. This unique tool can help you find criminal sentencing ranges in seconds instead of hours — and it’s available free of charge to all members of the Law Society of BC.

Simply head to courthouselibrary.ca, and select Remote Access to Subscription Databases (under the “How We Can Help” tab) to activate your free Courthouse Libraries BC account. You don’t have to be in one of our branches to access it either. Our license allows lawyers to use Rangefindr on their own devices, at the office, in court or anywhere there’s Internet. Rangefindr is not simply a digest of sentencing ranges for offences, but a finely calibrated tool that lets you narrow the case results based on a wide range of variables that you can select (e.g. accused’s pre-sentence behaviour, credit for restrictive bail conditions, risk of re-offence, and many, many more).

Once you’ve explored Rangefindr, be sure to check out mms.watch. MMS Watch is an ongoing project by the creators of Rangefindr to monitor the constitutionality of each mandatory minimum sentence in the Criminal Code and Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. MMS Watch is free.