Law Times

PAGE 16 February 27, 2012 • Law Times u BIZARRE BRIEFS By Viola James SON'S ADDICTION GETS MOM ON LIST OF TOP SCOFFLAWS NEW YORK — A New Jersey woman is on the hook for more than $120,000 in unpaid tolls and fines thanks to her drug-addict son's free- wheeling ways. Jean Davis ended up on the New York port authority's list of its biggest toll scofflaws after her son Peter, 52, repeatedly used her car to drive to Manhattan to score drugs, according to the New York Post. He didn't cough up for the tolls, so he racked up more than $21,000 in unpaid charges and $102,000 in fines. "If I could have killed him and gotten away with it, I would have," said Jean, a 75-year-old retired data processor. The repeat trips earned Jean the notoriety as the top scofflaw. But even now, the pair lives together in Englewood, N.J., where Peter is recovering from his addiction. "When you're addicted like that, you don't think of the consequences. You have other things on your mind," said Peter. Peter acknowledged that for three or four years, he'd drive his mother's Ford Focus over the George Washington Bridge several times a week to get drugs. While Jean reached a settlement with the port authority in 2005, Peter continued to flout the tolls until authorities revoked his licence a couple of years back, the Post reported. MAN WHO URINATED ON TRANSFORMER JAILED LEICESTER, England — It seems the lesson we all learn about not mixing water and electricity didn't sink in for a man who was sentenced to a year in prison for attempting to rob a British power substation that exploded when he uri- nated against a transformer. The incident left Michael Harper, 36, per- manently disfigured after he suffered serious burns in the blast at the electricity substation in Leicester, the Leicester Mercury reported. As he lay burning on the floor, his accom- plice, 50-year-old Richard Boyce, tried to drive off, but police later found him. The incident last March also left 2,000 homes and businesses without power. At a Leicester Crown Court hearing, Harper was jailed for a year after pleading guilty to burglary and criminal damage, according to the Mercury. The two men broke into the substation at 10 a.m. on March 13 last year, the Mercury reported. Sian Cutter, prosecuting, told the court there were "numerous" signs warning of the danger. "Boyce claimed he had knowledge as an elec- trician and they began to strip the transformer of its copper cable," said Cutter. Cutter said that after Boyce had drained oil inside the conductors to insulate against electrical charges, there was an explosion that set fire to the oil. She said Boyce told police the pair had gone to the substation to take heroin and that the explosion occurred when Harper urinated against the transformer. WORKER ON HOOK FOR SICK DAYS 8 YEARS LATER NIANTIC, Conn. — Eight years after a retired employee apparently took a few extra sick and vacation days, the state Department of Correction wants its money back. "Clearly I'm not paying it," said Walter L. Edwards III, a former correctional treatment officer. "I don't even work there anymore." After he received a letter on Feb. 7, Edwards learned a computer glitch had resulted in the department giving him too much sick and vaca- tion time in 2004, the Day reported. It says he now owes $1,255. Brian Garnett, a spokesman for the depart- ment, said the case isn't unusual. "It is not unusual, particularly when you have 6,300 employees, for an overpayment letter to go out to a particular staff member," Garnett said. "The formulation of payroll is so com- plicated because of accruals of vacation time, longevity, etc." LT u The INSIDE STORY STUDENTS COMPETE IN FIRST TWITTER MOOT West Coast Environmental Law has held a moot competi- tion that allows students to ar- gue their cases entirely through Twitter. Billed as the world's first Twitter moot court, the com- petition featured five teams from law schools across Canada that argued a mock appeal of a recent precedent-setting envi- ronmental case, West Moberly First Nations v. British Columbia (Chief Inspector of Mines). The case focuses on the sur- Omar Ha-Redeye vival of an endangered caribou herd threatened by coal mining and ongoing industrial development. The teams included two students from Dalhousie University, the University of Ottawa, the University of British Columbia, the University of Victoria, and York University. Osgoode Hall Law School students Nikki Petersen and Eme- lia Baack represented West Moberly First Nations in the appeal and argued that the treaty right to hunt should extend to protect- ing a particular herd of caribou from the effects of coal mining. "Twitter is a great way to let many people share their views," said Petersen. "I see the moot as a spark to get a discussion going about environmental law issues in Canada. The response to team Osgoode has been very positive." The competition took place on Feb. 21 and featured judges Wil- liam Deverell, Omar Ha-Redeye, and Kathleen Mahoney. The Osgoode team won first place in the competition. "140 characters is a great way to focus legal arguments and ideas," said Osgoode dean Lorne Sossin. "This is a novel and timely initiative. Congratulations to West Coast Environmental Law for initiating the project and good luck to the mooters, especially team Osgoode. We'll be following this groundbreaking moot with great interest." For more information, see twitter.com/#!/twtmoot. CBA SPEAKS OUT ON JUDICIAL COMPENSATION The Canadian Bar Association has found a "disturbing" trend in the federal government's re- sponse times to Judicial Com- pensation and Benefits Com- mission reports. Created under the Judges Act, the commission makes recommendations every four years to the federal minister of justice about the salaries and benefits paid to the federal ju- diciary. The law requires the minis- ter to respond to the commis- sion within six months. But the CBA claims re- sponses to both the 2004 and 2008 commission reports went well beyond the statutory time frame of six months, according to a CBA press release. The result, according to the release, could affect the judi- ciary's independence. "Canadians need to know "I would like to take this opportunity to introduce our new cabinet colleague, the Hon. Omnibus Bill. Say hello, Bill!" Recruiting? Post your position on GREAT RATES. GREAT REACH. GREAT RESULTS. Contact Sandy Shutt at sandra.shutt@thomsonreuters.com for details. www.lawtimesnews.com JobsInLaw 1-8 pg 5X.indd 1 2/15/11 4:12:27 PM that when they appear in court, the judge is going to be impar- tial," said CBA president Trin- da Ernst in her remarks to the 2012 Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission. "Individuals must have con- fidence that when their case is decided, judges have no finan- cial incentive in the outcome. This means not only that judges have no personal or financial interest in the case but also that they are not worried about whether the outcome of the case will please or displease the government that provides their remuneration." Unexplained delays are not only disrespectful but they also undermine the integrity of the process, according to Ernst. "The judicial compensation review process only succeeds if all parties respect and comply with the statutory time require- ments. Unexplained delays by one party are disrespectful of the other parties and under- mine the integrity of the pro- cess." Ernst appeared before the LT commission last week. uFor more Inside Story, please visit www. lawtimesnews.com.

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