Law Times

www.lawtimesnews.com Page 4 February 4, 2008 / Law Times NEWS Investigation into Barrie judge launched BARRIE — An Ontario judge is under investigation for asking a witness who is HIV-positive to testify with a mask over his face or testify electronically from another courtroom. The complaint against Justice Jon-Jo Douglas was filed with the Ontario Judicial Council after vari- ous groups read about the incident in media reports. "I was absolutely shocked," says lawyer Ryan Peck, execu- tive director of the HIV & AIDS legal Clinic for Ontario (HAL- CO). "It shows that stigma and discrimination against AIDS is rampant." The complaints against Doug- las stem from a trial held in a Barrie courtroom last November when a victim of an alleged sex assault tes- tified that he was anally raped in his jail cell by another inmate at the North Central Correctional Centre. During his testimony, he admitted he has hepatitis C and is HIV positive. The admission alarmed the judge who locked horns with Crown attorney Karen McCleave and insisted her witness either tes- tify with a mask over his face or, preferable to the judge, that he testify electronically from another courtroom. McCleave refused to allow her key witness, who is now out of jail and free in the community, to be treated with such disdain and ap- plied several times for a mistrial, but Douglas dismissed her at- tempts each time. McCleave took the case to a higher court to try to have Doug- las removed from the case, but Superior Court Justice Margaret Eberhard dismissed her applica- tion, stating: "Safety concerns was within Jus- tice Douglas' jurisdiction . . . Even if his decision could be said to be 'wrong,' it was the trial judge's de- cision to make." However in her decision Eber- hard also suggested the complaint might better be taken up with the "appropriate judicial council." Since her Dec. 11 decision, HALCO, as well as two other groups, have filed complaints to the Ontario Judicial Council including the Ontario Criminal Lawyers Association and Rich- ard Elliott, executive director for the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. "Such shockingly discrimina- tory thinking and practice by a judge and courtroom staff is unac- ceptable and falls below minimum standards of conduct," wrote Elliot in his written complaint. Frank Addario, president of the Criminal Lawyers Association would not comment on why the complaint was lodged. "Once we file a complaint, I think it's fair to let the system do its business," says Addario. Spokesperson for the Ontario Judicial Council, Marilynn Kim, says all complaints are treated se- riously, but not all go for a public review. "Some cases are given disposi- tions that might include certain conditions such as an apology or a suspension," said Kim. Peck says he would like to see judges and court staff receive more education on AIDS and HIV. "The stigma and discrimina- tion against people with AIDS is rampant," says Peck, adding the numbers of clients who seek legal advice at HALCO are up by 20 per cent in the past year. "We see it every day . . . People are losing their jobs. Now we are seeing it in the courts and I am glad that this case has been brought into the spotlight." BY TRACY McLAUGHLIN Law Times LSUC backs Osborne civil justice shakeup T he Law Society of Upper Canada has committed its "strong support" for a report by former Ontario associate chief justice Coulter Osborne that pro- poses a shakeup in the province's civil justice system. Convocation passed a motion — jointly sponsored by LSUC's government relations and access to justice com- mittees — that it "strongly support the overall approach to increasing access to justice proposed in the Summary of Findings and Recommendations Report of the Civil Justice Reform Project, and that Convocation commit to working with the Ministry of the Attorney General on the details of the implementation of the recommendations." Bencher Marion Boyd, co-chair of LSUC's access to justice committee and a former Ontario attorney general, told Convocation that it was important for the law society to quickly get behind Osborne's report. The Jan. 24 meet- ing was Convocation's first since the report was released in November 2007. "It's clear that the attorney general is aware of the dif- ficulty of moving this kind of process forward and getting the legislative changes that are required within the term of the government," she said. Boyd suggested the proposed civil justice reforms will face fierce competition for MPPs' attention in the midst of more glamorous political issues. "Speaking as a former attorney general, I can tell you that changing the Courts of Justice Act and working on rules of conduct are not high priorities for those elected to public office, because they're very backgroundy kinds of things, and it's very often hard for attorneys general to get both cabinet time and legislative time," said Boyd. Osborne's report included 81 recommendations for change in 18 areas of the civil justice system. Alterations need to be made to the way trials are scheduled, unrep- resented litigants need more resources and information, and some areas of the province need more judges, Os- borne found. His full report is expected to be released early this year. Attorney General Chris Bentley last month began a two-month consultation process with the profession, in which he will have "focused discussions" with legal organi- zations and schools regarding civil justice reforms. "The attorney general has heard many points of view from around the province from parties," says Brendan Crawley, Ministry of the Attorney General spokesman, in a prepared statement. "The Law Society of Upper Canada has been an active participant in these discussions and we're very pleased with their strong support for this initiative. As we proceed in this work to reform the civil justice system, we'll be looking to all of our justice partners, including the law society, to provide advice on increasing access to justice for all court users." Bencher Heather Ross told Convocation that family law should have received more attention in Osborne's report. "It is the area of law where we also deal with the largest number of unrepresented litigants, and it is a huge access to justice issue that is getting short shrift," said Ross. Boyd tells Law Times that parts of Osborne's report need "tweaking," and at Convocation said, "There are some people who think some [of the recommendations] are too mild and some a little too strong . . . What we are saying is we want that consultation to go forward. We want some action on civil justice reform." BY ROBERT TODD Law Times With over 20,000 Office Products finding what you want is easy. 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