Law Times

PAGE 16 WillBuilder Tel: 416.322.6111 Toll-free: 1.866.367.7648 doprocess com ntitled-2 1 The PECK TO PROSECUTE BRYANT CASE The Ministry of the Attorney General has brought in prom- inent British Columbia lawyer Richard Peck to indepen- dently prosecute the Michael Bryant case. Former Ontario attorney general Bryant is accused of criminal negligence causing death and dangerous opera- tion of a motor vehicle after a cyclist died from allegedly be- ing dragged aside a car on To- ronto's Bloor Street. Bryant, in a letter to Toronto Mayor David Miller resigning his position as CEO of Invest Toronto Inc., maintains his in- nocence. "Let me be clear: I am inno- cent of the very serious accusa- tions made against me," he said in the letter. Toronto criminal lawyer Ma- rie Heinen will represent Bryant. Peck has been brought in to deal with many high-profile cases in which in-province Crowns may have faced a conflict. He was also lead defence counsel for ac- cused Air India bomber Ajaib Singh Bagri. The question now is whether the AG will see fit to put an out- of-province judge on the case that involves the man who was an integral player in the prov- ince's justice system for years. SOUTH AFRICA PROTESTS REFUGEE DECISION The federal government agreed last week to review a South African's refugee case after the country objected to the deci- sion in which a white man claimed discrimination from black South Africans. The case could land at the Fed- eral Court for a formal review, a Citizenship and Immigration de- partment spokeswoman told The Associated Press. The controversy follows an immigration board panel rul- ing in the case of Brandon Huntley. He successfully ar- gued that black criminals in South Africa target whites in the country, and that the gov- ernment turns a blind eye to Reinventing the Will www 2/2/09 10:53:45 AM Inside Story the alleged mistreatment. "This decision is incorrect, it is not factual, it does not repre- sent the facts on the ground," said Anesh Maistry, head of the political section at the South African High Commis- sion in Canada. "It portrays South Africa in a negative light and it misrepre- sents the work that has been done in the last 15 years to build a non- racial society in the country." Danielle Norris, spokes- woman for Citizenship and Im- migration, says government law- yers are reviewing the decision. "However, a judicial review by the Federal Court will not hear additional evidence, with respect to the facts, for ex- ample, conditions in South Africa," she says. PIONEERING WOMAN JUDGE REMEMBERED Réjane Laberge-Colas, a Que- bec judge who became the first woman appointed to a Cana- dian superior court, recently died after suffering a stroke. She was 85 years old. Laberge-Colas founded the Quebec Women's Federation in 1966. "She showed us what we needed to know, that it was possible to have children and a career," Louise Mailhot, a re- tired Quebec Court of Appeal justice now practising with Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, told The Globe and Mail. "When I was named to the court, only 0.4 per cent of judges were women and she told me, 'Have confidence in yourself. Don't pay attention to what others might say.'" Laberge-Colas received her law degree from the Université of Montréal, where she was joined by just one other female student. She was appointed to the Quebec Superior Court in 1969. Laberge-Colas leaves behind her children, Bernard, Hubert, and Francois, five grandchil- dren, and four siblings. LT For more Inside Story, please visit www.lawtimesnews.com "You know, she has a point. The distribution of the green spangles does indeed fail to conform to the ISO 9001:2010 standards respecting ornamental sucrose-participate dispersal pattern technologies." WHICH DIRECTION IS BEST FOR YOU? RainMaker Group 110 Yonge Street, Suite 1101 Toronto, Ontario M5C 1T4 Untitled-7 1 Tel: 416-863-9543 Fax: 416-863-9757 www.rainmakergroup.ca www.lawtimesnews.com 5/29/08 1:05:49 PM JUSTICE RED GREEN CANTON, Ohio — Mu- nicipal court Judge Stephen Belden has taken a cue from Red Green's handyman cor- ner by ordering a defendant's mouth duct-taped to prevent interruptions. During the preliminary hearing into an alleged theft at an area Wal-Mart, 51-year- old Harold Brown asked for permission to address the court. He told the judge he wanted to represent himself instead of the court-appoint- ed public defender. The judge, using the "fool- for-a-client" adage, advised Brown he was facing jail time and the move would not be wise. A verbal sparring match ensued, prompting the judge to channel Red Green and order Brown's mouth taped shut. "I was a defence attorney before I became a judge," Belden later told reporters. "I enjoy a good legal argument as much as anyone." Belden says he could also have ordered Brown into an- other room, but that would not have allowed him to participate in the proceedings. So he had his bailiff duct-tape his mouth. TRY PRESIDENT NEXT TIME MOUNT CARMEL, Tenn. — Police received an odd re- sponse to a speeding ticket from a northeast Tennessee man who refused to pay the fine because ™ September 7, 2009 • Law timeS Bizarre Briefs By Viola James he claimed to be the deputy director of the CIA. The ticket for $75 was sent to a 56-year-old Rogersville resident going more than 100 kilometres per hour in a roughly 90-km/h zone. It was mailed back to the police with a handwritten note claim- ing he wasn't subject to local speed zones because he was the deputy chief of the CIA. Clearly, the man wasn't quite sure what the "I" in the acronym stood for. His claim was checked out, and the Cen- tral Intelligence Agency told police the man never worked there, let alone as the head honcho. For his troubles, the man was arrested for criminal impersonation and released on a $500 bond. Federal charges are also pending. STEP AWAY FROM THE TRACTOR CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A 76-year-old farmer driving an antique tractor was Tasered by police when he veered off a pa- rade route. Bud Grose was driving his tractor and nearing the end of the Deer Creek Days parade in Glenrock, Wyo., a town of about 2,200 people. The farmer veered off the pa- rade route, after which police say he ignored their demands to return. According to statements afterwards, Grose was follow- ing an older route his antique tractor group had used in the past. Police chased after the tractor, eventually catch- ing up to it and forcing the farmer to stop. They demanded he shut off the engine and get off the rig. When he didn't, they turned the Taser on him. No charges were laid, say local law officials who feared reprisal from residents. "At the time, it was very close to having a riot right there, and that probably would have cre- ated a full-scale riot," said Police Chief Tom Sweet, adding the incident had strained relations between the town and its seven- member police force. "It's something we're go- ing to have to work together to resolve." POLICE PHONE TRICK ROUNDS UP 76 SUSPECTS FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Police in this Flori- da city used a new twist on an old trick to round up 76 people on a variety of arrest warrants. In what is being called "Op- eration show me the money," law enforcement officials sent bogus "South Florida Stimu- lus Coalition" letters to vari- ous wanted suspects. The letters asked the re- cipients to call an undercover phone line and make appoint- ments to claim their money. When they showed up at an auditorium and presented their identification, they were led to an area where uni- formed police were waiting to arrest them. Charges ranged from gun crimes, drug charges, failure to pay child support, and second-degree murder. LT

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