Law Times

PAGE 2 NEWS August 8, 2011 • LAw times Court tosses lawyer's racial profiling claim C BY RAVI AMARNATH For Law Times alling the case "an abuse of process," an Ontario Superior Court judge has dismissed allegations of racial pro- fi ling by a Toronto lawyer against several high-profi le offi cials. Th e lawyer, Munyonzwe Hamalengwa, had submitted a statement of claim alleging racial profi ling by a number of parties including Ontario Attorney Gen- eral Chris Bentley, Ontario om- budsman André Marin, and the Toronto Police Services Board. Part of the claim related to events during the infamous Richard Wills murder case, a matter that has also sparked a separate law- suit by the Ontario government against the accused in order to recover public funds spent on his criminal defence in addition to ongoing assessment proceedings. In response to Hamalengwa's lawsuit, the defendants success- fully moved to have the state- ment of claim struck on various grounds. "Th e statement of claim does not disclose a reasonable cause of action and is an abuse of process," Ontario Superior Court Justice Sidney Lederman said in his decision on July 27. "It is plain and obvious that the plaintiff cannot succeed if the matter were to proceed to trial." In doing so, Lederman reject- ed Hamalengwa's claims related to breaches of his rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. "Th e statement of claim does not plead material facts that would establish any Charter breach for racial profi ling," he wrote. "In- stead, the statement of claim is largely a combination of evidence and argument that racial profi ling is a systemic problem." Although he was unsuccessful in proceeding further with the case, Hamalengwa is adamant about his motivation in bring- ing forth the statement of claim against multiple parties. "Racial profi ling of African-Canadians is an ongoing problem, and we deserve protection from the fed- eral government, Ontario gov- ernment, and police," he says. "My experience as a lawyer suggests that litigating various claims is futile. Class action lawsuits attack the problem and get a broader remedy. Th e mes- sage is sent out to participants in a group case of their [collec- tive] wrongdoing." One incident Hamalengwa highlighted in his statement of claim was his involvement in the case of Wills, a former Toronto police offi cer convicted of fi rst- degree murder. Hamalengwa was one of 11 lawyers hired at various times by Wills to serve as his defence counsel. Th e case drew widespread attention fol- lowing revelations that Wills, who divested himself of his as- sets and enlisted the support of Legal Aid Ontario, cost taxpay- ers more than $1 million in legal fees over the course of his fi ve- year court battle. Hamalengwa, who worked on Wills' case for nearly 18 months and billed for just over $670,000, is currently having his fees reviewed by the Minis- try of the Attorney General. "I was singled out for assessment," he says. "I worked so hard on the [Wills] case, [one] that a good many before me failed to resolve, and what do I get? Punishment. Th ere is no doubt in my mind that I was isolated, along with another minority lawyer, for assessment." Hamalengwa says he worked on the Wills case from November 2005 to May 2007 and was fi red by his client a day before the mat- ter was to go to trial. "I personally contributed to bringing Richard Wills to trial after many lawyers had failed af- ter four years. I was principally doing that case for one and a half years at about $200 per hour. . . . Th ere is absolutely nothing in- correct about that fi gure. Other lawyers involved made more money proportionately." In the meantime, Ministry of the Attorney General spokesman Brendan Crawley said assessment proceedings "to determine if full value was received for the money paid to two defence lawyers," Ha- malengwa and Raj Napal, remain ongoing. Th e civil suit against Wills to recover the public funds spent on his defence "has been stayed pending the disposition of the assessment proceedings," Crawley added. WHERE AUTHORITATIVE CRIMINAL LAW CONTENT COMES TOGETHER CRIMINAL SPECTRUM This online research service integrates leading authored works with the Canadian Criminal Cases decisions, a comprehensive collection of full-text reported and unreported decisions and the Weekly Criminal Bulletin case summaries. Topical indexes, a case citator and search templates have been designed to make your research easier. Select from four different editions – Essential, Select, Classic or Premier. Each includes a different combination of works. Works includes: • Canadian Criminal Cases • Martin's Annual Criminal Code with annotations by Edward L. Greenspan, Q.C., The Honourable Justice Marc Rosenberg and Marie Henein • Martin's Related Criminal Statutes with annotations by Edward L. Greenspan, Q.C., The Honourable Justice Marc Rosenberg and Marie Henein • Canadian Criminal Procedure, Sixth Edition by The Honourable R.E. Salhany, Q.C. • Sentencing: The Practitioner's Guide by Gary R. Clewley and Paul G. McDermott • Youth Criminal Justice Act Manual by The Honourable Justice Peter J. Harris and The Honourable Justice Miriam H. Bloomenfeld • Drug Offences in Canada, Third Edition by Bruce A. MacFarlane, Q.C., Robert J. Frater and Chantal Proulx • McWilliams' Canadian Criminal Evidence, Fourth Edition by The Honourable Justice Casey Hill, Prof. David M. Tanovich and Louis P. Strezos • Criminal Pleadings & Practice in Canada, Second Edition by The Honourable Justice E.G. 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