Law Times

Page 16 July 23, 2018 • law Times www.lawtimesnews.com u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story "Take a number!" COIN TOSS OVER ARREST ATLANTA — Two police officers have been suspended after they used a coin toss to decide whether to arrest a 24-year-old motorist they stopped for speeding, reports Reuters. The officers stopped the motorist in April when she was running late for work at an Atlan- ta hair salon and sped past them at around 130 kilometres an hour on a wet road, according to a police statement and video footage of the inci- dent released by a local television station. The two police officers then discussed whether to give motorist Sarah Webb a speed- ing ticket or arrest her for reckless driving, ac- cording to a police statement released on July 13. They decided to f lip a coin to decide it: heads, arrest; tails, release, according to the statement by the Roswell Police Department. Officer Courtney Brown used a coin f lip app on her mobile phone and the toss went against Webb, with Brown and the other officer, Krist- ee Wilson, giggling as they began to write up charges, according to the video. Atlanta news station 11 Alive alerted Webb of the footage. Webb filed a request to see it, and its release led to all charges being dropped against her at a July 9 court hearing. Webb could not immediately be reached for comment. An investigation has been launched and the officers have been put on administrative leave. SPORTS CAR OF THE SKIES FARNBOROUGH, England — James Bond would love it. Aston Martin, maker of the lux- ury sports cars favoured by the fictional British spy, has now come up with a futuristic personal aircraft it has dubbed "a sports car for the skies," reports Reuters. Aston Martin unveiled the three-seater hybrid-electric vehicle recently at the Farnbor- ough Airshow and, though the concept remains for now the stuff of science fiction, believes it could help one day to revolutionize travel. The Volante Vision Concept design has vertical takeoff and landing capabilities and will be able to hit speeds of around 322 kilometres an hour, "so you can go from the centre of Birmingham to the centre of London in about 30 minutes," Aston Martin's Simon Sproule told Reuters. Aviation and technology leaders are working to make electric-powered f lying taxis a reality, including Airbus, U.S. ride-sharing firm Uber and a range of startups including one backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, called Kitty Hawk. Aston Martin believes it could corner the market for luxury f lying vehicles in the future. RIOT ON THE FIELD MOSCOW — On July 16, a Moscow court handed down 15-day jail sentences on four members of the Pussy Riot protest group who interrupted a World Cup final between France and Croatia when they ran on to the pitch wear- ing fake police uniforms, reports Reuters. The pitch invasion by members of the punk band early in the second half of the final was a brazen act in Moscow's Luzhniki stadium in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin and other high-ranking officials from around the world. The judge also banned the four from at- tending sports events for three years. The four were Veronika Nikulshina, Olga Pakhtusova, Olga Kurachyova and Pyotr Verzilov, the only male. Kurachyova said their stunt, which held up the game only brief ly, was meant to promote freedom of speech and condemn policies of FIFA, soccer's global governing body. "It is a pity that we disrupted the sportsmen," Kurachyova told reporters on July 16. "FIFA is involved in unfair games unfortunately. FIFA is a friend of heads of states who carry out repres- sion, who violate human rights." The match, which France won 4-2, was watched from the stands by Putin and the French and Croatian presidents. LT LAO LAWYER RECOGNIZED Lynn Bradley, supervisory duty counsel for Legal Aid On- tario at L'Orignal Court, won the 2018 Champlain-East branch's Earl Eaton Award of Distinction, the Canadian Mental Health Association said. The CMHA says it is award- ed annually to a person for out- standing dedication in the field of mental health. As the only full-time duty LAO counsel in a large swath of territory between Quebec and Ottawa, Bradley is the first point of contact for cases ranging from family law to crimi- nal matters. Clients with mental health concerns tend to be over-detained, Bradley says. She says every case is different, and it often takes the help of clients' concerned family members to break the taboo around speaking to lawyers about mental health. "We need to find the right sources for them not to come back and not to be incarcerated," Bradley says. "I really do feel like I'm making a difference every day." PROFESSOR ORDERED TO PAY COSTS Law professor Ryan Alford was ordered to pay almost $10,000 in costs to the Law Society of On- tario after a judge decided a case about the law society's Statement of Principles should be trans- ferred to Divisional Court. At issue in the July 9 deci- sion, Alford v. The Law Society of Upper Canada, 2018 ONSC 4269, was whether the Ontario Superior Court of Justice had jurisdiction over the dispute be- tween Alford and the law society. Alford, who teaches at Lake- head University, brought an application to the Superior Court to challenge the law so- ciety's authority to require the creation of a Statement of Prin- ciples. Asher Honickman, partner at Matthews Abogado LLP, who represented Alford, says they have not decided whether to seek leave to appeal. CAVALLUZZO WINS LABOUR LAW AWARD The University of Toronto said it will give Paul Cavalluz- zo the Bora Laskin Award this year. The award honours "out- standing contributions to Ca- nadian labour law." Cavalluzzo, senior partner and co-founder at Cavalluzzo LLP in Toronto, serves on the board of the Cana- dian Foundation for Labour Rights. The CFLR said he is known for representing unions, as well as the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada in Charter challenges over bans on farm unions. The award, which commenced in 2003, is the namesake of former Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Bora Laskin, who specialized in labour law and was the first Jewish justice to sit on the SCC. 52 % NO, I DO NOT AGREE YES, I AGREE 48 % LAW TIMES POLL Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP said it will remove names from applications for its firm's summer positions. The Toronto law firm said the name- blind screening process is an effort to promote more diverse recruitment. About 52 per cent of readers said they did not think the name- blind screening initiative would achieve the intended aim of pro- moting diversity in hiring. Forty- eight per cent of readers said they think it will improve diversity in the hiring process. LT Legal News at Your Fingertips Sign up for the Canadian Legal Newswire today for free and enjoy great content from the publishers of Canadian Lawyer, Law Times, Canadian Lawyer InHouse and Lexpert. Visit www.canadianlawyermag.com/newswire-subscribe THE LATEST NEWS THE BEST COMMENTARY DELIVERED WEEKLY FOR READING ON ANY DEVICE Untitled-3 1 2018-07-12 4:16 PM Lynn Bradley has won an award recogniz- ing her legal work with clients with mental health needs.

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