Law Times

Page 16 OctOber 29, 2018 • Law times www.lawtimesnews.com u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story "Never mind! We'll win on appeal. The court clearly demonstrated prejudice against pointless, fatuous, far-fetched, irrelevant, tedious, long-winded legal arguments." HERE COMES THE JUDGE! LEWIS COUNTY, Wash. — Two inmates tried to escape custody by bolting from a Washing- ton State courtroom and found their way out, but the judge took matters into his own hands and made their run for freedom a short one, re- ports CNN. Courthouse video shows the two inmates being led from the courtroom, but instead of following orders to go back to the jail, the two men head for the door. That's when Judge RW Buzzard leaped into action. "I didn't know what to think by the time they hit the door. I'm like 'there's nobody between them and the street, so I wanted at least to find out where they were going," said Buzzard. Both Kodey Howard and Tanner Jacobson were still handcuffed when they took off, but it wasn't without a few hiccups. Howard did a face-plant, lost a shoe and then fell behind Jacobson, causing them both to fall three f lights of stairs. The tumble allowed Buzzard to make up ground. "Once I got to the stairwell, I knew I was go- ing to be able to catch the one that was just in front of me because I immediately started gain- ing on him," said Buzzard. Local media reported that Jacobson made it out to the street, but the judge grabbed Howard at the emergency exit, and Jacobson was arrest- ed a few blocks away. The judge is back on the bench holding court as normal. Howard and Jacobson are back behind bars possibly facing more jail time for escape. NO LICENCE, NO PROBLEM NEW SOUTH WALES, N.Z. — An Australian man who had his driver's licence suspended found a unique way to get around the issue. In a video shared on social media, Shane Swanscott is seen driving a mobility scooter along a highway in New South Wales, towing a dinghy before he is pulled over by a police patrol car, reports the New Zealand Herald. He told 9News the officers slowed as they passed him, before eventually rounding the cor- ner and pulling him over. "I lost my licence and pretty much finished working on my boat at the same time. I was go- ing to push my boat down the street by hand, but I thought why not use [the mobility scoot- er]," he said. Swanscott has not been told what punish- ment he will receive for being caught without his licence. The man says he and his girlfriend Keira have been using the scooter to get around lo- cally since his licence was revoked. PANDA ARMED AND DANGEROUS PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Detectives with the Portsmouth Police Department's Major Crimes Unit are asking for the public's help in finding the armed suspect who robbed a business Oct. 24, reports NEWS3 TV. Police responded to the King convenience store in the 2900 block of Victory Boulevard around 1 p.m. in reference to a call of an armed suspect. The suspect pointed a gun at the clerk and took money and cigarettes from the business before f leeing on foot and meeting up with two other people. Authorities say the suspect is possibly a white man who is about 5'2" to 5'4" with a medium build. He was last seen wearing black sweatpants with white stripes on each leg, a grey hooded sweatshirt, a blue shirt and a black jacket. The suspect was also said to have hidden his identity by wearing a panda mask. No injuries were reported. The investigation remains ongoing. LT McCARTHY'S ANNOUNCES $5-MILLION DONATION McCarthy Tétrault LLP said it will donate $5 million over five years to United Way Centraide, with "additional investment of firm time" through volunteer and pro bono projects. The funding aims to support women, members of the LGBTQ community, Indigenous peoples, newcomers and people living with disabilities, the firm said in an announcement. Chief executive officer and partner Dave Leonard says Mc- Carthy Tétrault is working with United Way on how its donation will make the most impact and will receive reports on how the program is progressing in measurable ways in locations across the country. Leonard also says he expects to be held accountable after all of the publicity on the event. "The gift is really an external thing — trying to make a difference in Canadian society. We are very privileged. Me, my partners — we have all benefited greatly from this country, from the profession, so this is our way of giving back," Leonard says. He says the initiative came out of a strategic planning process with two goals: investing in people and reducing barriers for inclusion. When people look at opportunities within the firm, he says, those aforementioned five groups can encounter barriers. "Bay Street looks very male, Bay Street looks very white and prob- ably will for a long time. But what we are trying to focus on internally at the firm is breaking that down," he says. NO DECISION ON LAW SCHOOL The proposed law school at Ry- erson University is not among the funding cuts announced last week by the Ontario govern- ment. Tanya Blazina, spokes- woman for the provincial Min- istry of Training, Colleges and Universities, says in a statement to Law Times that the govern- ment has not made any decisions related to Ryerson's proposed law school at this point. Minister of Training, Col- leges and Universities Merrilee Fullerton announced that the province would no longer fund several university programs, including York University's Markham campus, Wilfred Laurier University's Milton campus and Ryerson Univer- sity's Brampton campus. MILLER THOMSON PARTNER ELECTED VICE PRESIDENT Miller Thomson LLP partner James Klotz will serve as vice president of the International Bar Association for two years beginning in January 2019. He will be the first Canadian to hold this position in more than 25 years, the firm said in an an- nouncement. The London, Eng- land-based organization counts about 200 bar associations and law societies from more than 170 countries as members. YES, I AGREE 17 % 83 % NO, I DO NOT AGREE LAW TIMES POLL With the legalization of recre- ational cannabis, lawyers could see more human rights com- plaints, such as complaints that an employer failed to accom- modate cannabis addiction is- sues. Law Times asked readers if their firm or workplace has a cannabis policy in place. Most answered that they do not. About 83 per cent said their workplace does not have a clear- ly stated policy in place, while 17 per cent responded that their workplace has a clearly stated policy regarding cannabis that was circulated before legaliza- tion occurred. LT THE ULTIMATE SOURCE For Today's Legal Profession Canlawyer.lawtimes@tr.com | 416.609.3800 | 1.800.387.5164 Online bitly.com/CanLawyer-Subscription Free preview bitly.com/CL-FreePreview-17 Subscribe today! ONE-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION INCLUDES: • 10 issues print and digital editions • FREE exclusive access to Canadian Lawyer digital edition archives • FREE weekly e-newsletter: Canadian Legal Newswire THE TOP MOST INFLUENTIAL $ 1 1 . 9 5 A u g u s t 2 0 1 8 MAKING AN IMPACT MEET THE CANADIAN LAWYERS AND JUDGES WHO ARE SPECIAL SECTION: CANADIAN LAWYER 4STUDENTS P.51 CHANGEMAKERS HUMAN RIGHTS, ADVOCACY AND CRIMINAL CORPORATE COMMERCIAL YOUNG INFLUENCERS GOVERNMENT/ NON-PROFITS/ ASSOCIATIONS M PM AGREEMENT # 40766500 Untitled-3 1 2018-10-24 10:55 AM Dave Leonard says a $5-million donation to United Way Centraide is to try 'to make a difference in Canadian society.'

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