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PAGE 16 The Inside Story 6 NEW SUPERIOR COURT JUDGES Justice Minister Rob Nich- olson has appointed six new judges to the Ontario Supe- rior Court of Justice. Law Society of Upper Can- ada Bencher Glenn Hainey be- comes a judge in Toronto. The civil litigator has practised with Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP since 2001 and was called to the bar in 1976. Christopher Bondy takes up a position in Windsor, Ont., after 30 years at Wolf Hooker Professional Corp. in Essex, Ont., the firm he co-founded in 1980. He has been the chair- man of the Canada Pension Plan/Old Age Security review tribunals since 2008. Robert Reid, a lawyer with Lancaster Brooks & Welch LLP in St. Catharines, Ont., is appointed to the Superior Court in Hamilton, Ont. Reid had been a partner with the firm since 1982 after he was called to the bar in 1978. Victor Mitrow is appointed a judge of the Superior Court's family division in London, Ont. He has been a partner at London firm McKenzie Lake Lawyers LLP since 1998 with his main area of practice focus- ing on family law. Former Ontario Bar As- sociation president Carole Brown decamps from Ottawa, where she practised with Bor- den Ladner Gervais LLP, to take up a position in Toronto. Brown was called to the bar in 1984 and had practised at BLG since 1985. Her main areas of practice involved professional negligence, insurance defence work, personal injury, and Su- preme Court agency work. Brian Abrams, a partner at Templeman Menninga LLP in Kingston, Ont., is appointed a judge of the Superior Court's family division. Abrams was admitted to the bar in 1998 after a 17-year career with the RCMP that involved postings in Canada and abroad. BRAMPTON LAWYER SUSPENDED Brampton, Ont., lawyer Charles Amissah-Ocran has had his licence suspended on an interlocutory basis until the completion of a Law Society of Upper Canada investigation into his real estate practice. The law society is investigat- ing seven complaints about 14 suspect mortgage transactions. [ Untitled-5 1 Amissah-Ocran blames one of his real estate employees, Claire Graham, for tricking him into involvement in a mortgage fraud scheme. In the mean- time, the law society had earlier warned him to stop using Gra- ham for real estate services over her role in fraudulent mortgage transactions that resulted in an- other lawyer's disbarment. Amissah-Ocran stopped us- ing Graham for new mortgage files but continued to employ her for litigation support and to clean up old mortgage files she had previously been in- volved in. "The decision by the lawyer, which he describes as foolish, is more appropriately described as reckless," Bencher Mark Sandler wrote on behalf of the three-person panel. Amissah-Ocran had offered to voluntarily restrict his prac- tice to civil litigation, family law, and criminal defence, but the panel wasn't swayed by the proposal. "Deep concerns about the lawyer's involvement in extensive fraudulent activi- ties, his continuing relation- ship with Graham and her as- sociates, and his candour with the society are raised by his evidence and are not addressed through restrictions on his practice," the panel wrote. Peel police Det. Bob Lusty, who deals with mortgage fraud investigations, says Amissah- Ocran's complaint about the matter is the subject of an in- vestigation but notes there have been no arrests. "We have re- ceived allegations of criminal behaviour, and the investigation is ongoing," Lusty says. "I can't say much more than that." LEADING LAWYER JOINS CASSELS BROCK Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP has recruited structured finance lawyer Martin Finger- hut to play a leading role on the firm's securitization team. Fingerhut, who has 40 years of experience behind him, be- comes a partner at the Toronto firm. "The securitization team at Cassels Brock is highly talented and leverages the members' mul- tidisciplinary capabilities across a number of key areas," Fingerhut said. "I think it's a progressive model and I'm excited about our future plans." LT For more Inside Story, please visit www.lawtimesnews.com. "Real estate lawyers!" Commercial and Residential Title Insurance Solutions At Stewart Title, we know it's our relationship with our customers that determines our success. That's why service is the foundation of our business and integrity, the keystone in all our dealings. Keeping real estate transactions where they belong – in your office! Call us today at (888) 667-5151 or visit www.stewart.ca. www.lawtimesnews.com 7/19/10 2:39:54 PM ] COURT TO COPS: OBEY THE LAW BALTIMORE, Md. — It should be obvious, but a Maryland court ruled recently that cops, just like the rest of us, have to follow the rules of the road. The decision from the Maryland Court of Appeals came after four Montgomery County police officers sued their department over speeding tickets they received, the Balti- more Sun reported. They were unsuccessful in the case, which essentially involved the techni- cal issue of whether the county had given the officers enough time to contest the tickets. But the decision, according to the Sun, had the effect of holding police to account for following the rules just like anyone else. Of course, cameras play a growing role in the issue. Whereas in the past an officer could avoid a ticket by showing identification to a colleague, cameras set up to catch speeders and red-light runners eliminate such loopholes. Officers nabbed by them are now crying foul, as the recent case made clear. The police department has a policy for speeding emergency vehicles. According to spokes- man Anthony Guglielmi, of- ficials review dispatch records and will issue tickets if the driver wasn't responding to an emergency, the Sun reported. But union leaders say the issue is more nuanced, February 14, 2011 • Law Times Bizarre Briefs By Viola James particularly since rules requir- ing lights and sirens when responding to an emergency aren't always practical. On a robbery call, for example, of- ficers may not want to turn on their sirens to avoid tipping off criminals of their immi- nent arrival. In other cases, a speeding officer's response to a call may not show up as an emergency on the dispatcher's official re- cords. "Maybe there's a reason why the officer wasn't going to a call, still went through a red light, and was still doing his job," said Robert F. Cherry, president of the Baltimore Fra- ternal Order of Police. The court, of course, has now had its say on the matter. Drivers of emergency vehicles, it said, can violate traffic laws in "precisely three circumstances:" responding to an emergency call, pursuing a suspect, and racing to a fire alarm. DECREE ADDRESSES URGENT ISSUE ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan — Despite talk of the loom- ing downfall of political lead- ers in some Muslim countries, lawmakers continue to use their wide-ranging powers to rule on key national issues, including beauty contests for horses. In Turkmenistan, President Kurbanguly Berdymukhame- dov has decreed that national beauty contests for the ancient Akhal-Teke breed should take place every April, Reuters re- ported. The goal, the decree said, is to "promote the glory of the heavenly racehorse worldwide." According to Reuters, the event will include special awards for craftspeople for the best car- pet featuring the horse, the best holiday attire for the breed, and best portrait and sculpture. The Akhal-Teke breed has cult status in Turkmenistan, which features it at the centre of its national emblem. MOM BROKE AS DAD STAYS IN CASTLE WOODSTOCK, Conn. — He's living the high life in a castle but he's still stingy on child support, the spurned mother of Christopher Mark's daughter is charging. Mark, the scion of a Chi- cago industrial family, is fac- ing litigation over the $1,000 in monthly child support he's reportedly willing to pay, the New York Post reported. In the meantime, he lives in a large castle featuring a turret, moat, and petting zoo, mother Ma- rina Isakova is alleging. Isakova claims she's now fac- ing eviction from her home be- cause Mark refuses to pay more. In the meantime, a Brooklyn Family Court judge has ordered him to pay an additional $700 per month pending a further hearing, according to the Post. Isakova alleges Mark didn't show up for daughter Maria's birth, after which he refused to allow her to return to the castle. She's now seeking additional child support. Mark's lawyer, Andrew Black, said his client would de- fend his position in court. "He denies the main thrust of her charges," Black said. LT