Law Times

Page 16 January 27, 2014 Law Times • u The u Bizarre Briefs InsIde story By Viola James MEDICAL EXAMINER TAKES BONE FROM CORPSE TO TRAIN DOG NEWBOLD, Wis. — A former medical examiner who declared herself "lucky" to have come across a piece of spinal column apparently thought it was OK to remove it from a corpse and use it for training her dog. The woman has pleaded guilty to felony charges, according to court documents. According to Reuters, Traci England, 46, will appear for sentencing on Feb. 10 on two felony counts of misconduct in public office. Theft and obstruction charges against England were dismissed as part of a plea bargain, the Forest County Circuit Court records showed. The criminal complaint said England took a piece of bone from a corpse's spinal column after another medical examiner removed it during an autopsy on Sept. 5, 2011. She told fellow employees she planned to use the bone to train her cadaver dog, the complaint said. Investigators wrote in the complaint that England "made a comment on how lucky she was to have gotten this section of the spine because it was hard to come by." During a search of her Town of Newbold home on Jan. 4, 2012, investigators found what appeared to be brain and liver tissue along with a piece of bone in bags on a shelf in her garage, the complaint said. FAMILY SUES COPS FOR NOT DETAINING LOVED ONE CINCINNATI — It's not often people will demand a blood-alcohol test or an arrest, but the family of a deceased man found to have been driving drunk argues police should have done that instead of letting him go. According to The Associated Press, the family of Uriel Juarez-Popoca has launched a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Delaware County sheriff 's office, its deputies, and an officer with the Ohio state highway patrol. The family is al- leging racial discrimination after police dropped him off at a Taco Bell instead of investigating further on the night of July 28, 2012. A car struck him after police left him at the nearby restaurant. He was clearly drunk at the time police found him pulled over on a grass median on Interstate 71, The Associated Press reported. "This stands out as a truly outrageous failure by local law enforcement to do their basic duty of holding people safely," The Associated Press quoted Al Gerhardstein, the lawyer representing the family, as saying. While the lawsuit alleges police should have given Juarez-Popoca a bloodalcohol test and then detained him or turned him over to family or friends, the authorities say they gave him a break by letting him go and noted they expected him to call for a ride from the restaurant. The officers also faced criminal as well as disciplinary action over the incident, according to The Associated Press. POLICE PUNCTURE TIRES TO STOP TERROR KABUL — We all know the security situation in Afghanistan is bad, but who knew it would get so dire that police would resort to puncturing tires? An NPR producer probably wasn't happy when he left his office on a recent evening to find his car tires punctured. But as NPR journalists Sean Carberry and Sultan Faizy quickly realized, there was no point in going to police as they were the ones who had done it. It turns out their actions are part of an antiterrorism effort. According to an NPR story by Carberry and Faizy, officials worry terrorists could use stolen vehicles as car bombs. In response, they're puncturing car tires to prevent theft. There's divided opinion on whether doing that's a good idea. Carberry and Faizy quoted Zaher Zaher, police chief in Kabul, as opposing the policy and apologizing for his officers' actions. But his spokesman later said the practice is reasonable. LT "I warned you about opaque pantyhose." SECURITIES LAWYER LEAVES TORYS FOR BLG Securities litigator Laura Paglia has left Torys LLP to join Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. Paglia joins David Di Paolo as regional co-leader of the securities litigation group at BLG's Toronto office. "Laura contributes to our team's indepth expertise in the Canadian securities market. She has been a leader in Canadian securities litigation and regulatory matters and has been inLaura Paglia volved in representing numerous market participants including investment dealers, mutual fund, and futures dealers," said Jim Douglas, national leader of BLG's securities litigation and regulatory group. "She is a tremendous asset to our clients as they respond to the many reforms taking place in the regulation of the Canadian financial market." FAMILY LAWYER JOINS THE BENCH The province has appointed family lawyer Lynda Ross as a judge of the Ontario Court of Justice. Ross began presiding in Windsor, Ont., as of Jan. 20. Ross worked in all areas of family law. She practised collaborative family law and has been a child protection mediator providing services to children's aid societies and courts in various regions. OSC SEEKS MORE WOMEN ON BOARDS The Ontario Securities Commission has issued proposed amendments and is asking for comment on changes that would demand greater transparency regarding the representation of women on corporate boards and in senior management. If adopted, the proposed amendments would require issuers reporting in Ontario to include the following disclosure annually in their proxy circulars: • Director term limits or an explanation for their absence. • The number and proportion of women on the board and in executive positions. • An issuer's policies on the representation of women on the board (including for identifying and nominating female directors) or an explanation for their absence. • If they've adopted a policy, disclosure of its objectives and key provisions, the measures taken to ensure its implementation, the progress made on achieving the goals, and whether and how they measure the effectiveness of the policy. • The board's consideration of the representation of women in the director identification and selection process, including whether it considers the level of female representation on boards in identifying and nominating candidates, and, if not, why not. • The consideration given to the representation of women in executive positions when making appointments. • Targets voluntarily adopted regarding female representation on the board or in executive positions and, if none, an explanation for their absence. LAO LAWYER TO ATTEND TORONTO AREA COURTS Legal Aid Ontario will start sending a staff lawyer to the Superior Court in Toronto and Brampton, Ont., on a regular basis to assist litigants and the courts. A staff lawyer will attend the Toronto court every Wednesday and visit Brampton every second Friday, according to LAO. "The LAO lawyer's participation in these superior courts is part of a pilot project to enhance access to justice for LAO's clients and to assist the administration of justice," said LAO. During the visits, the LAO lawyer will provide updates on the status of legal aid applications and let the court know the exact days of future attendance in order to schedule issues requiring an LAO lawyer on those dates. The pilot project will start on Jan. 29 in Toronto and Feb. 7 in Brampton. LT The title insurer that puts you front row, centre Putting the legal community front and centre has made us the #1 choice with Canadian lawyers for over a decade. Stewart Title does not support programs that reduce or eliminate the lawyer's role in real estate transactions. For more information call (888) 667-5151 or visit www.stewart.ca. Untitled-2 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 7/19/11 12:31:45 PM

• Cover