Law Times

DEFAMATORY LIBEL BRAND LOYALTY Will BB10 rekindle lawyers' enthusiasm? $4.00 • Vol. 24, No. 6 ntitled-4 1 P5 Time to abolish outdated offence FOCUS ON P6 L aw TIMEs Family Law/ Trust & Estates NOW INCLUDES Collaborative Separation Agreement 1.800.653.0925 | www.divorcemate.com CO V E R I N G O N TA R I O ' S L E G A L S C E N E • W W W. L AW T I M E S N E W S . CO M 12-03-20 10:44 AM P9 February 11, 2013 ntitled-1 1 13-02-06 8:53 A Is this church a law firm? Court says no, issues injunction against pastor BY BREANNE NICHOLSON For Law Times T he Ontario Superior Court has issued an injunction against a pastor and convicted fraud artist for offering unregulated legal services from a church in Hamilton, Ont., to local residents. Gideon McGuire Augier provided legal services while claiming to be a lawyer despite having no legal education, Superior Court Justice Robert Goldstein found in Law Society of Upper Canada v. Augier last month. The judge determined Augier, a pastor, had been operating McGuire Law Corp. inside the Abba Uno Center, a community church and addiction recovery centre for local residents. The organization is in a former factory at 53 Gibson Ave. in Hamilton's industrial east end. "The respondent's own correspondence and the McGuire Law Corp. web site contradict the assertion that he only assists congregants as a clergyman, and that his actions are directed towards the spiritual health of individual members of his congregation," wrote Goldstein. "The evidence is crystal clear that he has been practising law for profit." In his ruling, Goldstein permanently forbade Augier from "practising law or holding himself out to be a lawyer or a paralegal" and ordered him to pay the LSUC $15,000 in costs. "The law society has an important role in protecting the public from the activities of unlicensed and unregulated persons holding themselves out to be lawyers and paralegals," said Goldstein, who noted Augier didn't have to carry professional liability insurance, keep books and records for inspection by the law society or maintain a A judge found Gideon Augier has been providing legal services from the Abba Uno Center in Hamilton's industrial east end. trust account for client funds. According to the Hamilton Spectator, the courts have convicted Augier 11 times for fraud between the 1990s and 2001. A Spectator article noted Augier opened Abba Uno Photo: Glenn Kauth to seek "redemption" for the mistakes he made while struggling with a gambling addiction. But Goldstein's ruling isn't the first time the courts have taken Augier to task for See Pastor, page 4 Judge's private talks with jurors insufficient for new trial Law Times A 'These trials won't be considered fair, but as far as the Supreme Court of Canada is concerned, they're fair enough,' says Craig Penney. recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision that criticized a judge's private conversations with potential jurors has rendered questions about appearances of unfairness during criminal proceedings "a moving target," says a Toronto defence lawyer. A conversation the trial judge had with potential jurors out of earshot of the accused doesn't warrant a new trial, Justice Paul Rouleau found in the Ontario Court of Appeal's Jan. 31 ruling in R. v. Sinclair. The trial judge who presided over the assault case in question had called potential jurors to the bench and allowed them to tell him in private if they had any reason for him to excuse them from jury duty. As is the law, people accused of a crime similar to the one at trial can't serve as jurors. Having been a victim of a similar office or knowing someone involved in such a matter are also reasonable grounds for exclusion. "We don't wish to embarrass anyone by asking questions about personal matters," Superior Court Justice John Murray said during jury selection. "At the same time, we need to know about these things because they may make it difficult for you to perform jury duty in this case. If you come forward, I will discuss your situation with you." After inaudible conversations with 11 potential jurors, the judge excused all of them. The accused, Ishmael Jahmar Sinclair, appealed his conviction. He cited a breach of his right to be present at his trial. Murray's conduct goes against the open-courts principle, wrote Rouleau. The appearance of unfairness, he added, was sufficient to breach that principle. Yet the appeal court, with fellow justices Stephen Goudge and Timothy Ray concurring with Rouleau, dismissed Sinclair's appeal after citing a number of reasons why the trial judge's action PM #40762529 BY YAMRI TADDESE See Circular, page 4 ONTARIO LAWYER'S PHONE BOOK 2013 YOUR MOST COMPLETE DIRECTORY OF ONTARIO LAWYERS, LAW FIRMS, JUDGES AND COURTS More detail and a wider scope of legal contact information for Ontario than any other source: 26,000 lawyers 9,000 law firms and corporate offices OLPB_LT_Feb11_13.indd 1 Visit carswell.com or call 1.800.387.5164 for a 30-day no-risk evaluation 13-02-06 12:58 PM

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