Law Times

Page 24 December 10, 2018 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story "I'm not sure if you can receive enhanced credit due to harsh conditions during pre-trial detention just because an alien crawled up the shower drain and switched the channel to live coverage of the Ontario provincial legislature, but you can certainly apply." COURT REJECTS MAN'S REQUEST TO BE YOUNGER ARNHEM, Netherlands — A Dutch court has rejected the request of a self-styled "positivity guru" to shave 20 years off his age, reports The Guardian. Last month, Emile Ratelband asked the court in Arnhem to formally change his date of birth to make him 49. He said his official age did not ref lect his emotional state and it was causing him to strug- gle to find work and love. Ratelband claimed he did not feel 69 and said his request was consistent with other forms of personal transformation gaining acceptance around the world, such as the right to change name or gender. In a written ruling on Dec. 3, the court said Dutch law assigned rights and obligations based on age "such as the right to vote and the duty to attend school. If Mr Ratelband's request was al- lowed, those age requirements would become meaningless." In a press statement, the court said: "Mr Ratelband is at liberty to feel 20 years younger than his real age and to act accordingly. But amending his date of birth would cause 20 years of records to vanish from the register of births, deaths, marriages and registered partnerships. This would have a variety of undesirable legal and societal implications." Ratelband has vowed to appeal the deci- sion. AI ROBOT THROWS TANTRUM INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION — An Artificial Intelligence-powered robot made its debut at the International Space Station, but it did not seem like the free-f loating device was getting along well with its human astronaut col- leagues. In its first video as the interactive f light companion, Cimon — which is short for Crew Interactive Mobile companion — threw an un- expected tantrum and accused astronaut Alex- ander Gerst of being mean to him. According to Gizmodo, the AI bot was sent to see if it could help in boosting the morale of the crew during long missions. Cimon has no arms or legs, but he can f loat around with the help of 12 internal fans. The robot can be started up with the words "Wake up, Cimon," and it can play music, capture video and display instructions on its screen. Despite the robot's strange behaviour, the European Space Agency says it's not worried. "Happy with his initial outing, both Cimon's developers and Alexander hope to see Cimon back in action again soon," the agency said. SGT. BEAR REPORTING TRUCKEE, Calif. — Police in California got a surprise when a bear stood up on two legs, opened the door to a facility and then wandered in as if it worked there, reports Huff Post. "We had an unexpected visitor last night at the facility," California Highway Patrol's Donner Pass division wrote on Facebook on Nov. 8. The footage shows the bear step into the commercial vehicle enforcement facility in Truckee, near Lake Tahoe, then drop down to all fours. It wanders past some vending machines and out of camera range. A few moments later, the bear casually strolls back out. Two police officers follow. The bear returned the following day, caught on camera in the facility's parking lot. "Our bear friend made a return visit," the de- partment wrote. Bears in the area are searching for food for up to 20 hours per day as they prepare for hiberna- tion, the United States Forest Service noted on its website. LT LAFORME JOINS OKT Harry LaForme, Canada's first and only Indigenous judge on an appellate court, has joined Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP as senior counsel. LaForme was a judge of the Ontario Court of Appeal for 14 years and on the Superior Court of Ontario for 10 years before that. He was the first In- digenous person to serve as a judge of the Court of Appeal any- where in the Commonwealth, ac- cording to a press release by OKT. In 2002, LaForme served on the Ontario Divisional Court panel that ruled that denying same-sex couples the right to marry was a violation of their civil rights; his suggestion — that marriage be redefined — was subsequently adopted by the Court of Appeal for Ontario. He recently retired from the Ontario Court of Appeal. La- Forme is Anishinabe and a member of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation located in southern Ontario. "OKT for me was really the only option of where I was going to go," LaForme says. LaForme served as co-chairman of the independent National Chiefs Task Force on Native Land Claims, chief commissioner of the Indian Commission of Ontario, chairman of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Land Claims and he taught the "Rights of Indigenous Peoples" at Osgoode Hall Law School. ROTHSTEIN CALLS FOR CULTURE SHIFT Linda Rothstein of Paliare Roland Rosenberg Roth- stein LLP has received the 2018 Award of Excellence in Civil Litigation from the Ontario Bar Association, where she spoke about being a woman in a profes- sion that values stoicism, despite the internal emotional toll of the job. Rothstein said lawyers will excel if they show more empathy toward clients and distinguish the role of legal advocates from the rhetoric of political advocates. "There's something about what we do — being a voice for another human in crisis, the ten- sion and power of the courtroom, the thrill of distilling a complex point, the inevitable gaffes and bloody brute effort — advocacy, it seems to me, is all bound up with human frailty, and if you just hang on long enough it grabs you and makes you better," she said. CAMPION MOVES TO LAX O'SULLIVAN LISUS GOTTLIEB Nadia Campion will join Toron- to-based law firm Lax O'Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb LLP. Her practice will include a broad range of civil litigation, including commercial disputes, shareholder oppression applications, director and officer liability, estates matters, class ac- tions and professional liability, ac- cording to the Lax O'Sullivan web- site. Campion previously practised at Polley Faith LLP and Lenc- zner Slaght Royce Smith Grif- fin LLP. 68 % NO, I DO NOT AGREE YES, I AGREE 32 % LAW TIMES POLL An Ontario judge wrote that the use of artificial intelligence should have "significantly re- duced" counsel's preparation time in an occupier's liability personal injury costs judgment. The judge went on to cap the costs award. Law Times asked readers if they use artificial intel- ligence in their practices. The majority of the re- spondents, 68 per cent, said they do not really use software that involves artificial intelligence in their practices. A minority of respondents, 32 per cent, said they do use software that in- volves artificial intelligence in their practices and expect to use it more this coming year. LT Harry LaForme has joined Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP as senior counsel. Legal News at Your Fingertips Sign up for the Canadian Legal Newswire today for free and enjoy great content from the publishers of Canadian Lawyer, Law Times, Canadian Lawyer InHouse and Lexpert. Visit www.canadianlawyermag.com/newswire-subscribe THE LATEST NEWS THE BEST COMMENTARY DELIVERED WEEKLY FOR READING ON ANY DEVICE Untitled-4 1 2018-12-04 3:34 PM

• Cover