Law Times

Page 16 May 27, 2013 Law Times • u The u Bizarre Briefs InsIde story By Viola James CITY CRACKS DOWN ON 'ROBIN HOODING' KEANE, N.H. — The city's the rich and drivers are the poor, according to a group of residents who are evoking Robin Hood in a bid to spare people from parking tickets. In December, James Cleaveland made an unusual New Year's resolution: to do all he could to keep police in the city of Keene from issuing parking tickets. According to Reuters, Cleaveland and a group of friends took to the streets with pockets full of change and began shadowing the city's three parking enforcement officers and stuffing coins in expired meters before they could issue $5 tickets. They call their practice "Robin Hooding" and, in just over four months, the group claims to have spared motorists more than 2,000 tickets in the city of some 23,000. "It's my philosophy," said Cleaveland, 26, a member of a group called Free Keene that subscribes to the libertarian principle of smaller government. "I could go talk to the city council at every meeting but to me, actions speak louder than words. I can go out and try to save people and reduce the number of tickets." The southern New Hampshire city's government doesn't share Cleaveland's view, Reuters reported. This month, it filed suit in state court against him and five others seeking a restraining order to keep them at least 15 metres from parking enforcement officers. According to Reuters, the suit accuses Cleaveland and five others of videotaping, taunting, and intimidating its parking meter personnel. The alleged behaviour includes chasing officers on bicycles, shouting insults, and accusing them of stealing people's money. "It's affecting the employees and it's taking a lot of time and energy to deal with it, and so the city's intent was to try to establish some clear boundaries and a little breathing room," said James Duffy, a member of the Keene city council. CHEERLEADERS' BIBLE BANNERS LAWFUL: COURT KOUNTZE, Texas — In a demonstration of how far the U.S. cultural wars will go, a Texas judge has ruled the so-called Bible banners waved by cheerleaders during football games in a small school district are constitutionally protected free speech and that the tradition can continue. No law "prohibits the cheerleaders from using religious-themed banners at school sporting events," State District Judge Steven Thomas wrote in a two-page ruling. He had temporarily ruled in favour of the cheerleaders in October. According to Reuters, it has been a tradition in Kountze, a town of 2,100 in the Piney Woods of east Texas, for cheerleaders to write Bible verses and religious messages — such as, "If God is with us, who can be against us?" — on large sheets of paper. The football players run through the banners when they take the field for home games. The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based group that promotes the separation of church and state, sent the Kountze superintendent a letter last fall complaining that the banners were a violation of the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment that states that the government "shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." When the district tried to block the use of the banners in response to the group's letter, the Texas-based Liberty Institute, a group that says it's "dedicated to defending religious liberty in America," sued the school district on behalf of the cheerleaders. "This is a victory for students across the country," Liberty Institute general counsel Jeff Mateer said of the ruling. "The message that this decision sends is it is impermissible for the government to ban the private speech of students." According to Reuters, the judge ruled the messages on the banners "have not created, and will not create, an establishment of religion in the Kountze community." LT TORONTO'S ARBITRATION PROFILE BOOSTED The International Chamber of Commerce has announced an agreement with Arbitration Place in Toronto to bolster its presence in North America. Under the parameters of the agreement, Arbitration Place will provide office facilities for the ICC's International Court of Arbitration to conduct its operations in the city. In return, the ICC will advocate the use of Arbitration Place for arbitration hearings in Barry Leon Toronto. Established just before the opening of an office of the ICC court's secretariat in New York, the agreement is in line with its objective of making services more accessible to parties, their counsel, and arbitrators in the region. "This is a very significant development for arbitration in Canada. I am thrilled by it," says Barry Leon, head of the international arbitration group at Perley-Robertson Hill & McDougall LLP. Leon says arbitration practitioners are increasingly considering Canada as a venue for their arbitrations to resolve commercial and investor-state disputes. Having the ICC commit to a presence at Arbitration Place will help Toronto and Canada become more of a focal point for international arbitration, he adds. "All Canadians who participate in international arbitration will benefit from this focus by the ICC on Canada," says Leon. "We are thrilled that the ICC, one of the oldest and most respected institutions for international commercial arbitration in the world, has recognized the quality of our facilities and service and will be advocating the use of Arbitration Place for hearings," says Kimberley Stewart, CEO of Arbitration Place. LSUC AWARDS HANDED OUT THIS MONTH The Law Society of Upper Canada will present awards to 10 members of the legal profession on May 29. The 10 are people whose careers have shown "the highest level of achievement and commitment to serving society and the profession." LSUC Treasurer Tom Conway will present the Law Society medal, the Lincoln Alexander award, the Laura Legge award, and the Law Society Distinguished Paralegal award at a ceremony at Osgoode Hall. The Law Society medal recipients are Dan Chilcott, Paul Copeland, Ralph Haskings Frayne, Edward Greenspan, Martha McCarthy, Roy McMurtry, and Delia Opekokew. Frank Walwyn will receive the Lincoln Alexander award while the Laura Legge Award will go to Marie Henein. Elaine Page will receive this year's Distinguished Paralegal award. AG TO SUPPORT BILL C-489 Justice Minister Rob Nicholson has announced his support "We got them for only $50,000 a pair!"" for a private member's bill that would impose further restrictions on offenders conditionally released from prison. Mark Warawa, MP for Langley, B.C., is sponsoring the bill that he has dubbed an act to amend the Criminal Code and the Corrections and Conditional Release Act. Bill C-489 would make it illegal for child sex offenders to come closer than two kilometres to their victims' dwelling and requires those on conditional release to be "under strict conditions not to contact their victims, unless the victim consents or there are exceptional circumstances present," according to a press release from the Department of Justice. "The government's support for this bill demonstrates our commitment to standing up for victims and keeping our streets and communities safe," said Nicholson. "I am pleased to support my colleague Mark Warawa in his efforts to protect victims from being further traumatized by contact with their offenders after they are released." LT VOTE NOW! for the CLOS POLL ES JU NE 3 Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada www.canadianlawyermag.com/surveys www.lawtimesnews.com

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