Law Times

PAGE 20 u BIZARRE BRIEFS By Viola James TAX BREAK FOR ARTS NOT APPLICABLE TO POLE DANCES ALBANY, N.Y. — A New York court has stripped an exotic dance club of its hopes for tax-exempt status. According to Reuters, the owners of Nite and jurisdiction over the "air, water, public lands, minerals, wildlife, and other natural re- sources within the state' Moves, an exotic dance club near Albany, N.Y., had sought to have pole dancing and private lap dances qualified as tax exempt since revenue collected from "dramatic or musical arts per- formances" isn't taxable under state law. But the Court of Appeals, the state' court, decided against the club in a 4-3 ruling. "Surely it was not irrational . . . to conclude that s highest a club presenting performances by women gyrat- ing on a pole to music, however artistic or athletic their practice moves are, was also not a qualifying performance entitled to exempt status," the major- ity wrote in an unsigned memorandum. According to Reuters, Nite Moves was try- ing to fend off a $125,000 tax bill on admission fees, beverage sales, and income from private dances between 2002 and 2005. The owners argued that exotic dance qualifies for the tax exemption because it' requires practice and choreography. In dissent, Judge Robert Smith said that s difficult to perform and deciding the artistic merits of different dance forms "is not the function of a tax collector. " GRAND CANYON OWNERSHIP ON STATE BALLOT PHOENIX, Ariz. — It seems Canada isn't the only North American country with jurisdic- tional battles. According to Reuters, voters in Arizona next month will decide a landownership tug of war: Should the Grand Canyon belong to all Americans or just the residents of Arizona? A controversial ballot measure backed by Re- publicans in the state legislature is seeking sover- eign control over large swaths of federal land in the state, including the Grand Canyon. Proposition 120 would amend the state' constitution to declare Arizona's sovereignty s est salvo in the so-called "sagebrush revolt" by Republicans in the West aiming to take back control of major swaths of land owned by vari- ous federal agencies, much of it by the Interior Department' According to Reuters, the measure is the lat- s boundaries." can backers of the measure, argues that federal retention of the land hurts the economy of the western states and leaves them struggling to fund public education, nurture their economies, and manage their forests and natural resources. "We do not have the ability in rural Arizona State Sen. Sylvia Allen, one of the Republi- s bureau of land management. Konrad von Finckenstein to provide jobs for our citizens due to the fact that the federal government controls all the land, is just the latest move in a decades-old federal- state skirmish over control of a wide range of natural resources in western states, oſten pitting mining, drilling, and logging companies against those seeking to protect the environment. " Allen told Reuters. The ballot measure ID MIX-UP LANDS COP IN HOT WATER MEXICO CITY — With corruption a major problem among Mexico' sarily a surprise when a police officer became a murder suspect. According to Reuters, a stunned Mexican s cops, it wasn't neces- police officer found himself draſted into a mur- der investigation identity parade aſter a police database confused his mugshot with his name- sake who was a suspected killer. To make matters worse, an officer from a dif- ferent precinct then said he recognized the mug- shot as that of "El Pelon," a main suspect in the killing of a prominent politician' saw him in the lineup and realized his error. Fortunately for the officer, he had a solid alibi. "The state prosecutor says sorry, s office. s son, until he Carranza of the Coahuila state attorney gen- eral' " said Jesus LT OctOber 29, 2012 • Law times u The INSIDE STORY FORMER CRTC CHAIR JOINS JAMS Konrad von Finckenstein, chairman of the Canadian Radio- television and Telecommunications Commission, has joined the Toronto office of JAMS. Von Finckenstein' former ing at JAMS. "I have always believed that ADR helps parties solve their problems and resolve their disputes in an expeditious man- ner, " he said. HRTO AWARD CUT DUE TO FACEBOOK POST An employee who breached a confidentiality provision of a hu- man rights settlement by posting information on her Facebook page has paid the price for her actions. According to Human Rights needed, balanced, and respon- sible, Nicholson, who touted the protecting Canadians from vio- lent and repeat young offenders segment of the act last week. Among other things, the " said Justice Minister Rob Tribunal of Ontario member Ian Mackenzie's Oct. 15 ruling in Tremblay v. 1168531 Ontario Inc., the employee posted the fol- lowing message aſter the parties signed the minutes of settlement: "Well court is done didn't get what I wanted but I still walked away with some. with the postings at the HRTO, the employee countered that there was no proof they were about the settlement. She also argued Facebook was private, Mackenzie noted. Mackenzie however, rejected Aſter the employer took issue " provisions related to young of- fenders will remove barriers to sentencing youth to custody; require the Crown to con- sider seeking adult sentences for youth who commit serious violent offences such as murder, manslaughter, sexual assault; and require the courts to look at liſting publica- tion bans on the names of youth found guilty of violent crimes. " and aggravated tem was powerless to keep vio- lent or repeat young offenders in custody even when they posed a danger to society, All too oſten, the justice sys- Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu. those defences in the Oct. 15 ruling. "There have been no cases before the HRTO where a breach of confidentiality has been found, that emphasized the importance of adhering to such provisions. As a result, Mackenzie re- " he wrote in a ruling duced the amount owing to the employee under the settlement by $1,000. He also ordered the employer to pay interest on the outstanding amounts owed un- der the settlement. "And the real estate council's code of ethics requires me to inform you that no one was ever, actually, murdered in this house. " LEGAL CHANGES FOR YOUNG OFFENDERS New provisions related to young offenders contained in the Safe Streets and Communities Act came into force last week. "These changes to the youth criminal justice system are " said Sen. POLL RESULTS The results of the latest Law Times online poll are in. The poll asked readers whether the province's Justice on Target project is worth con- tinuing given its failure to reach its ambitious original goals. It appears readers are in favour of it as nearly 70 per cent of re- spondents said it should con- tinue. The poll follows the gov- ernment' showing that while the project failed to cut appearances and the number of days to disposition in criminal cases by 30 per cent, the courts have nevertheless made modest progress on both fronts. The province is now continuing the project with new goals based on the severity of the case but no timelines for reaching them. LT s release of statistics For his part, von Finckenstein said he's looking forward to work- cellent reputation for being fair and ef- ficient," said Chris Poole, president and CEO of JAMS. alternative dispute resolution provider follows a five-year term at the CRTC that ended this year and a previous position on the Federal Court bench. "Justice von Finckenstein has an ex- s move to the global Don't miss out on your chance to reach 150,000 up-market GTA households Untitled-4 1 www.lawtimesnews.com Produced by 12-08-29 2:02 PM LEGAL RESOURCE GUIDE 2 0 1 2 Serving the Greater Toronto Area WHEN LIFE THROWS YOU A CURVEBALL, THIS GUIDE WILL HELP MAKE IT A BIT EASIER TO GET THROUGH YOUR LEGAL ISSUES AWYER? NEED A

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