Law Times

May 11, 2009

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Online insurance quotes at www.SavewithGuthrieInsurance.com Follow on For the best Auto Home Business Life & Leisure Insurance call Insurance Brokers Ltd www.twitter.com/lawtimes $3.55 • Vol. 20, No. 16 Untitled-3 1 5/5/10 3:55:30 PM New downtown Crown Christine McGoey's appointment a 'historic event' BY ROBERT TODD Law Times the fi rst female to assume the position and has been credited with outstanding legal talents, fair-mindedness, and strong deci- sion-making abilities. In an interview with Law Times at 361 Uni- B versity Ave., McGoey spoke enthusiastically about her return to the offi ce she left in 2000 to prosecute cases in the Muskoka area. She is now in charge of what is believed to be the busiest Crown's offi ce in Canada, prosecuting about 60,000 criminal charges each year. "I love the offi ce. Some of my colleagues from nine years ago are still here, of course," says McGoey, who replaces the highly re- spected Paul Culver, who retired after nearly 20 years as Toronto's top Crown. "It's always an exciting place to me, and there's always a great deal going on," says Mc- Goey. "At this phase of my life, it's just an excit- ing part of life to be involved in." Attorney General Chris Bentley says, "Ev- erybody is very pleased, very much looking forward to her work. She has distinguished herself throughout her career — she has been a pioneer in many ways." He adds, "We're very happy and very pleased that she's assuming this extremely important role for what may well be the largest Crown attorneys' offi ce in Canada." Toronto lawyer Earl Levy describes McGo- ey's style as "a velvet club over an iron hand." Christine McGoey has taken the reins as down- town Toronto's new Crown Attorney. "Her reputation is of someone who is ex- tremely fair, but tenacious," says Levy. "She was an excellent cross-examiner." Criminal Lawyers' Association president Frank Addario says, "Her reputation for fair- ness is going to set a good example in the Crown system. She's also highly professional and I think that will rub off on people." Brian Greenspan, a partner at criminal law oth sides of the courtroom are prais- ing Toronto's new Crown Attorney Christine McGoey, who becomes fi rm Greenspan Humphrey Lavine, says Mc- Goey "is both articulate and has a real presence. She is someone who walks into a room and she certainly has a presence that is consistent with the leadership role that she is receiving." McGoey, 54, is the third youngest of 11 children. Both her parents were doctors, and when McGoey was born they lived in Toronto. Th e family later moved to Scarborough, where she attended Agincourt Collegiate Institute for high school. She then received her undergradu- ate science degree from the University of To- ronto, where she also received her law degree. For her fi rst year after law school, McGoey clerked for what was then called the County Court, and in 1983 joined the downtown To- ronto Crown attorneys' offi ce. She remained at that offi ce until 1999, before moving on in 2000 to the Muskoka Crowns' offi ce. In her fi rst stint with the downtown pros- ecutors' offi ce, McGoey spent time at Old City Hall, with the victims' assistance pro- gram as an acting co-ordinator, and helped train Crowns on child abuse issues. She also was among a group that started the child abuse prosecution team at Old City Hall in 1983. Th at initiative, now called J Court, involved a specialized team of prosecutors to assist children. McGoey then worked with a small group that set up Toronto's fi rst domestic violence court, also at Old City Hall. In 1997, she received the Ontario Crown At- torneys' Association's Frank M. Hoff man Award, which is awarded each year to a member who has shown extraordinary dedication, diligence, See Toronto, page 2 Economist raps Canadian justice system BY TIM NAUMETZ For Law Times OTTAWA — Th e Economist has published a scathing indictment of the Canadian justice system, comparing Canada negatively to Latin American countries for its treatment of white-collar crime and government corruption. Th e article — which also claims Canadian "sloth" prosecut- ing in those areas is shown up by American "zeal" — has sparked criticism from Ontario lawyers. Th e London-based weekly newspaper cites the Mulroney- Schreiber judicial inquiry as an example of a woefully slow system of justice. Th e infl amma- tory article was published just as the inquiry began last month. Th e story, written by an anonymous Economist correspon- dent from Ottawa noted six years had passed since it became public knowledge that former military lobbyist Karlheinz Schreiber paid former prime minister Brian Mul- roney at least $225,000 in cash for as-yet undisclosed lobbying services once Mulroney left offi ce. Th e article also referred to a TitlePlus_LT_Mar9_09 2/27/09 11:23 AM Page 1 three-year investigation before the fraud trial of theatre "impresarios" Garth Drabinsky and Myron Got- tlieb that led to convictions last March; the 16-month stretch be- tween infl uence-peddling charges against Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien and his trial; and the fact that former newspaper baron Con- rad Black was jailed for fraud in the U.S. but never charged in Canada. But two noted Ontario lawyers say the methodical and deliberate system of Canadian justice avoids wrongful convictions and other pitfalls that can turn prosecutions into miscarriages of justice. James Morton, former president of the Ontario Bar Association, says the magazine's comparison of Can- ada to Latin American countries is also misguided. "I think it's stretch- ing a point for ideological reasons," says Morton, a founding partner at Steinberg Morton Hope & Israel LLP, who also lectures at Osgoode Hall Law School. "As America is overzealous, Canada may be lackadaisical, but we're certainly not in the situation of some of the South American countries if only because in Canada there is no basis to say that delays in prosecution arise from corruption; they arise from a system that is in- herently slow," he tells Law Times. 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TitlePLUS policies issued with respect to properties in Québec and OwnerEXPRESS® policies do not include legal services coverage. ® Morton and Mark Ertel, presi- dent of the Defence Counsel Asso- ciation of Ottawa, say checks and balances in Canadian justice help to prevent miscarriages of justice and leads to a fairer system. Both lawyers argue that one of the Canadian elements criticized by Th e Economist as a time-con- suming delay — the requirement for sweeping evidence disclosure by police — gives the justice advantage to Canada compared to the U.S. "If the only thing you want to look at is speed, then their model is a good model to follow," Ertel tells Law Times. "I would like to think we are looking at more than speed here and we actually care about whether guilty people are convicted and innocent people go free or not." Th e Economist cites See Canuck, page 2 Focus On Securities Law Quote of the week "We need to implement a national regulator so that we are in a posi- tion to respond on a national basis to the new regulations that we will see coming at us from the U.S. and the U.K. in a whole range of capital markets areas. . . . If we remain broken down into 13 little fi efdoms, our ability to customize what is required in Canada will be inhibited and hampered tremendously." –– Barry Ryan, partner McCarthy Tétrault LLP See Is change, page 10 Covering Ontario's Legal Scene 416-487-5200 1-888-310-SAVE info@guthrieinsurance.com Since 1962 - Our Goal is Your Financial Security uthrie_LT_Apr27_09.indd 1 May 11/18, 2009 4/21/09 11:07:03 AM Inside This Issue 3 LSUC Financially Stable 6 Statement Analysis 9 www.lawtimesnews.com

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