Law Times

March 30, 2009

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Law Times • march 30, 2009 NEWS PAGE 5 Ontario Reports should go digital, says Toronto lawyer BY ROBERT TODD Law Times L sidewalk if a Toronto lawyer's request for weekly Ontario Reports distributions to go digital-only catches on. Ted Tjaden says he has sent a letter to the law society asking why the weekly pa- per part of the reports is not distributed in electronic format only, which he believes could save trees and costs while enhancing the interactivity of the publication. "A lot of lawyers read [the Ontario Re- ports] on a weekly basis, and they simply discard it when it's done," Tjaden tells Law Times. "It serves a value, but it's really a current awareness value, and [the question is] whether that need can be met through a digital version." Tjaden notes in a posting on the legal aw Society of Upper Canada mem- bers could have an easier time tak- ing their recycling bins out to the blog Slaw that law society members get a weekly paper part of the Ontario Reports through their membership fees. Th e pub- lication includes several recent key On- tario cases, notices, advertisements, and announcements. Larger fi rms, notes Tjaden, pay a sepa- rate fee to get bound versions of the key cases for their library collections. "Although the print weekly part is con- venient and has its advantages, I wonder if the time has come for the law society to advance beyond the Gutenberg technol- ogy of the mid-1400s by going digital," wrote Tjaden in the blog. He said the advantages of going digital include saving trees and paper; reducing costs to the law society and possibly easing the need for third-party publishers; greater interactivity for readers, such as links to relevant online content like cases and court rules; and the fact that advertisements could be included in the online version via a "clickable table of contents or menu." Tjaden says in an interview that he is awaiting a reply from the law society. "I want a response — just getting an understanding of their business model, is it a money-maker for them, and is there a better way of doing this that still meets members' needs?" he says. Vern Krishna, a law society bencher and editor-in-chief of the Ontario Reports, notes that the LSUC contracts out the produc- tion of the publication. He says the idea of the publication going digital-only has been fl oated before, and he's not convinced that law society members would overwhelmingly support such a move. "I get a lot of materials in electronic format, and I get a lot of material in hard copy," he says. "I enjoy both formats de- pending on what they actually do." As a tax lawyer, Krishna says he deals with a constant barrage of materials to his e-mail inbox. "It's an overwhelm- ing amount of material, which the print edition of the Ontario Reports circumvents because they go through a very serious process of selec- tion," he says. "Secondly, I think refl ect those of his fi rm. He says he was prompt- ed to make an inquiry on the matter following a comment from a col- league. "Actually, somebody there are a lot of people who enjoy reading print- ed material, because it depends where they read it. Even in this techno- logical age people read a lot sitting on subway cars and tram cars, over lunch and over coff ee, etcetera," says Krishna. He notes that a pro- posal to enlarge the size of the publication was rejected readers said they enjoyed the convenience of the smaller format. Krishna says he is not privy to many of the commercial aspects of the publication, which he says must be kept in mind. But he says the Ontario Reports is a "reasonable revenue generator for the law society." Tjaden is the director of library and because many from my mailroom made a side comment saying, 'We get 200 of these every Friday,' or whatever it is, and it just seems kind of silly to them that they have to distribute all of these," Tjaden says. He says it's tough to Ted Tjaden has asked the LSUC why the weekly paper part of Ontario Reports isn't digital-only. or entire cases he fi nds relevant. "It's good subway reading," he says. Tjaden rejects the idea that the publi- cation would lose part of its audience by scrapping the print format. "I think it's a mistaken assumption — know how many law- yers utilize the paper copies of the Ontario Reports, but notes that lawyers enjoy them and fi nd them convenient. Tjaden says he tears out ads for new books, knowledge management at McMillan LLP, but notes that his views don't necessarily and I'm guilty of this — that you sort of assume that older lawyers are not savvy enough," says Tjaden. LT Defence of necessity is 'alive and well' BY ROBERT TODD Law Times a lawyer who recently used the law under s. 8 of the Criminal Code in a bizarre dangerous-driving case in which a transport truck and pickup engaged in a high-speed chase. "Th e whole business of the defence of necessity is seldom up- held, because you really don't want people going around saying, 'I did it, but I had to,'" says Sudbury law- yer Richard Guy. "Th is is one of those rare ones where the defence of necessity was upheld." Adds Guy, "Th e judge found that [my client] did the right thing in the circumstances, fearing as he did for his life." Guy represented the defendant T he rarely used and seldom successful defence of neces- sity is "alive and well" says in the case R. v. Bruce Ettinger, heard by Justice Joseph Wilson of the Ontario Court of Justice in Barrie. Ettinger, a truck driver, faced a single charge of dangerous driv- ing stemming from a March 27, 2007 incident, according to Wilson's decision. Less than a week before the in- cident, the 55-year-old Sudbury man was hired by Carla Industries Ltd., which has offi ces and a yard near Barrie, said Wilson. He was to take a transport truck with two trailers from Sudbury to Etobicoke and back each day he worked. Th e cargo — estimated at over $1.5 million — was nickel oxide from an Inco yard, said the judge. During the March 27, 2007 trip, Ettinger came across eral problems and apparently had agreed to meet Carla employees at their yard in Barrie to deal with a couple of matters, said Wilson. When Ettinger had not shown up at the yard and it was near mid- night, two of the employees — Paul Rafter and Gary Peters — got into a pickup truck to watch for Ettinger's transport along an interchange on sev- Annibale_ML (LT 1-3x4).indd 1 Hwy. 400 in Barrie. Th ey found the transport and "by a combination of his maneu- vering his pickup truck and Mr. Rafter gesturing out the window, they essentially forced the vehicle Mr. Ettinger was driving to the side of the highway and made him stop," said Wilson. Rafter got out of the truck he was in and walked toward Ettinger's transport, apparently planning to get the truck to the Carla yard, said Wilson. But with the time now approaching 3 a.m., Ettinger said he was "panicked and, in fact, was afraid for his life," said the judge. He had been forced off the road and had not previously met Rafter or Peters, said Wilson. When Rafter approached or was trying to enter the transport, Et- tinger sped off , said Wilson. Th at led to a chase between the two vehicles, said Wilson, with both "engaging in perilous maneuvers with at various points one ahead of the other and changing from lane to lane," and coming into contact with each other. Wilson noted that the defence of necessity is rarely seen, "as we are all expected as responsible citizens to comply with the law." But met the criteria for the defence: he found that Ettinger "First, there must be an imminent danger or peril. Secondly, there must be no reasonable legal alternative to what the accused person did. And, thirdly, there must be a proportion- al relationship between the harm infl icted and the harm avoided," he wrote in summing up the test. Th e judge later stated, "I con- clude that there was no reasonable legal alternative to what Mr. Et- tinger did." LT Municipal Lands: Acquisition, Management and Disposition Everything you need to stay in compliance with the laws regarding municipal lands and related legislation Quinto M. 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Value-added features make the research process more efficient and convenient, and include: tables and charts • • • • • appendices that provide useful precedents completed forms, useful checklists, sample or model by-laws for drafting case law summaries a comprehensive analysis of each area in every chapter ORDER your copy today Looseleaf & binder • $188 • Releases invoiced separately (1-2/yr) P/C 0116030000 • ISBN 0-88804-428-3 For a 30-day, no-risk evaluation call: 1.800.263.2037 Canada Law Book is a Division of The Cartwright Group Ltd. Prices subject to change without notice, to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. www.lawtimesnews.com 3/25/09 11:43:34 AM LT0330

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