Law Times

ADJUDICATOR RULES Benchers concerned about proposed changes Follow on www.twitter.com/lawtimes $4.00 • Vol. 23, No. 19 Untitled-3 1 P5 DIGNIFIED MARCH Lawyers air their views on Bill 78 P6 COVERING ONTARIO'S LEGAL SCENE • WWW.LAWTIMESNEWS.COM Lawyers alarmed at criminal charges in family cases Trend on the rise as Ontario's courts struggle to identify legitimate complaints 5/5/10 3:55:30 PM ntitled-4 1 L BY MARG. BRUINEMAN For Law Times cases involving charges arising from domestic relation- ships. Many, he says, relate to separation and bitter family court battles. "Over the past 10 years, I have noticed an increase in the awyers are seeing an alarming trend of criminal accusations that they suggest are coming from fam- ily law litigants seeking an edge over their spouse. During his 20 years as a criminal defence lawyer, Joseph Neuberger has defended more than 400 L AW TIMES prevalence of these types of offences with a disturbing trend to use the criminal process as a quick means to obtain exclusive possession of the matrimonial home and thwart custody and access to the children of the relationships," says Neuberger. "I have successfully established fabrication in at least 15 per cent of the cases with very clear contradictions in evi- dence, including differences in affidavit evidence tendered in the family court proceedings. Yet not one case resulted in charges being laid against the complainant." The absence of witnesses makes prosecution of false allegations difficult. While Neuberger emphasizes the need to take legitimate cases seriously, he worries there isn't much in place to prevent a spouse from fabricating an allegation. It' ily law for 27 years, has also noticed. But there are no stud- ies, no way to quantify the problem , and, most troubling, no solutions at hand. When someone makes a complaint, police must lay s a trend Murray Maltz, who has been practising fam- 'The sad reality is that legitimate cases of abuse get tainted with the same incredulous brush,' says Roots Gadhia. charges. In family litigation, a criminal charge is like a red flag even when the case is still before the court. Additionally, the introduction of the criminal process can throw a wrench into any friendly resolution of the matter. "So if you want to play the game, 'I want custody, I want to control the situation,' often people will take the position, 'I'm going to call the police, '" says Maltz. Photo: Robin Kuniski communicate with the spouse and the children or come within a certain distance of the house. That makes the Immediately, the accused leaves the home and can't See Damage, page 4 AG seeking judicial supervision over former JP BY KENDYL SEBESTA Law Times A plication by the Ministry of the Attorney General for judicial su- pervision over any future litigation launched by him. Th e vow follows a decision on former justice of the peace is vowing to make sure "the truth is known" despite an ap- justice of the peace Regis Jogendra has initiated more than a dozen pri- vate criminal prosecutions against members of the judiciary, Ministry of the Attorney General lawyers, and others who have acted for parties involved in civil and administrative proceedings he has launched since leaving his position. According to Stinson' Jan. 19, 2012, by Ontario Superior Court Justice David Stinson grant- ing the ministry access to court re- cords for use in its application in Her Majesty the Queen v. Jogendra. Th e ministry claims in court documents supporting its application for judicial supervision that since 2009, former sion, the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario will be able to "access records of court proceed- ings and other documents held and controlled by the court ser- vices offi ces in relation to any pri- vate prosecution commenced in Ontario" by Jogendra, who lives in Scarborough, Ont., "for the purpose of producing transcripts s deci- of proceedings and reproducing copies of court documents for use as evidence in an application" for judicial supervision over future litigation by him. Jogendra, who says he retired against Jogendra to the Justices of the Peace Review Council in No- vember 2000. Jogendra was later charged with from his position in 2003, was criminally investigated in March 1999 aſt er allegations of unwanted sexual touching arose between June 1997 and March 1999 while he was acting as a justice of the peace at the Scarborough court- house, according to an affi davit fi led by counsel for the ministry in support of the application for judi- cial supervision. Th e allegations were followed by a complaint by Det. Cameron Field of the Toronto Police Service Get more online Visit Us Online 1-8-5X.indd 1 10 counts of sexual assault involv- ing 10 alleged female victims who had "sought [his] legal assistance as a justice of the peace with respect to various civil, provincial off ence, and criminal matters," according to a 2008 statement of defence fi led by the lawyer for a Crown attorney sued by Jogendra at the Small Claims Court. Th e Crown ultimately withdrew the 10 charges. According to the affi davit fi led by the ministry in support of its ap- plication in Her Majesty the Queen FOCUS ON Internet/E-commerce law P9 June 4, 2012 12-03-20 10:44 A See Jogendra, page 4 Canadian Lawyer | Law Times | 4Students | InHouse | Legal Feeds lawtimesnews.com • canadianlawyermag.com Fresh Canadian legal news and analysis every day www.lawtimesnews.com 2/28/11 2:37:34 PM PM #40762529

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