Law Times

Page 16 November 17, 2014 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com FIVE LAWYERS NAMED TO ONTARIO COURT The provincial government has ap- pointed five lawyers as judges of the Ontario Court of Justice. Frank Crewe, Kate Doorly, Stu- art Konyer, Riun Shandler, and Ger- ri Wong are the latest additions to the provincial court bench and will begin their new roles Nov. 19. Crewe, a former criminal lawyer in sole practice, taught advocacy at Osgoode Hall Law School and volunteered with the Ontario Justice Education Network. He'll preside in Toronto. Doorly is a Crown attorney who has held a variety of positions at the Ministry of the Attorney General over the past 23 years. A volunteer with the Lawyers Feed the Hungry program, she has also been an active fundraiser in her community. She, too, will preside in Toronto. Konyer, a former criminal defence lawyer at May & Konyer As- sociates, was also president of the Defence Counsel Association of Ottawa. He'll preside in Lindsay, Ont. Shandler worked as Crown counsel for the last 17 years and has taught mental health and criminal justice at Osgoode Hall Law School. He'll sit in Toronto. Wong managed her own law firm as a sole practitioner focusing on child protection matters. She has also practised family law and mediation in the past. A former member of the bench and bar com- mittee for the Ontario Court, Wong taught at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law as well. She'll preside in Chatham, Ont. MAN CAUGHT EATING WOMAN'S EYEBALL ARGOED, Wales — It's not often you hear about cannibalism, particularly involving eating some- one's eyeball. In a recent case, British police confronted a man trying to eat the eyeball and face of a woman, local media quoted witnesses as saying. According to Reuters, police have opened a murder investigation into the killing of the wom- an. They arrived at the scene of an incident at a hostel in the village of Argoed after reports of a man attacking a woman. Security staff at the Sirhowy Arms discov- ered the 34-year-old man eating the woman, a 22-year-old believed to be his girlfriend, ac- cording to witnesses quoted by the South Wales Evening Post. Police shot the man with a Taser stun gun. He became unresponsive and died despite at- tempts by paramedics to save him, police said. "This animal was eating this girl to death," the South Wales Evening Post quoted Jill Ed- wards, who lives near the hostel, as saying. The attack drew comparisons with Hannibal Lecter, a fictional murderer who ate his victims. "He went Hannibal Lecter on the woman, he gouged her eyeball out, ate them, and ate half her face," the South Wales Evening Post quoted Lyn Beasley as saying. AND THE WINNER IS . . . DEAD FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — Maybe the fact that a dead person appears likely to win an election is sign it's time to consider electoral reform. According to Reuters, results indicated an incumbent Democratic state representative in Washington was on track for a decisive re-elec- tion victory even though he died the week before. Roger Freeman, a first-term representative from Federal Way, had 53 per cent of the vote, compared to 46.9 per cent for his Republican challenger, Jack Dovey. Freeman, 48, died the week before after a battle with cancer. His death came after offi- cials mailed the ballots to voters in Washing- ton, a state where all voting takes place by mail. "This is extremely rare," said Brian Zylstra, a spokesman for the secretary of state's office. "But there are protocols in place." Once officials finalize all ballots in the com- ing weeks, if Freeman wins the vote, Democrats still will hold onto his seat in the state House of Representatives, said Zylstra. Democrats in Freeman's district, which spans two counties, will select three names for a temporary replacement and the King and Pierce County councils will vote to appoint one of those candidates to the seat for a year, according to state election rules. A UNIQUE WAY TO DISPOSE OF A BODY BROWNVILLE, N.Y. — If you're going to kill someone, feeding the body to alligators is one way of getting rid of it. A New York woman is facing charges of trying to hire a hit man to kill her daughter's ex-boyfriend and feed his body to alligators, according to police and jail officials. Police arrested Melisa Schonfield, 57, who lives in the small upstate town of Brownville, on charges of second-degree conspiracy and second-degree criminal solicitation, Dave Pustizzi, a detective in the Jefferson County sheriff 's office, said in a statement. Police suspect Schonfield of meeting with an undercover detective posing as a hit man and conspiring to kill a Florida man, identi- fied later as the 36-year-old ex-boyfriend of her daughter, said Pustizzi. They accuse Schonfield of giving the detec- tive $5,500 in cash in a Walmart parking lot, a local Fox News affiliate reported. When the detective asked how to dispose of the body, Schonfield suggested throwing it to alligators, the television station reported. LT legal expertise? Looking for Find exactly what you need at www.CanadianLawList.com It's fast, It's free, s fa , s f and it's available to you 24 hours a day. ay. s available y availabl y Starting a business, making a will or buying a house? Declaring bankruptcy, dealing with a personal injury, insurance claim or job loss? If you're in the midst of one of life's big events, help is as close as your smartphone, tablet or computer. Simply go to www.CanadianLawList.com to find the right lawyer for your particular legal need. www.CanadianLawList.com is Canada's most comprehensive online directory of lawyers and law firms. And it's easy to use! You can search by city, legal specialty, or name for listings and contact information. Find the legal expertise you need at www.CanadianLawList.com. CLLonline_LT_July7_14.indd 1 14-07-02 8:13 AM u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story 'THICK SKIN' DEFEATS ROBBERY CHARGE In an interesting decision on the distinction between bank rob- bery and theft, a Superior Court judge has found a man who told a bank teller to hand over cash com- mitted theft but not robbery. "When someone walks into a bank and hands a teller a note demanding money, it is usually considered to be a robbery. But in the unique circumstances of this case, it was just a theft," wrote Justice Gary Trotter in R. v. Oliveiros Ortega. Trotter found that due to the absence of any threats during the incident, there was no robbery. The judge made that finding even though the accused, Jorge Luis Oliveiros Ortega, had approached the bank counter and displayed a note that said: "This is a robbery, give me the money, my mother is sick." When the teller hesitated, Ortega, speaking in a calm voice, said, "Give me the money." "The teller testified that, dur- ing the incident, she did not fear for her own safety, or that of any- one else," wrote Trotter. "She agreed that she gave the accused the money because he asked for it and also because she felt sorry for him, given that he looked so young and his mother was sick." Although the Crown argued the crime in this case shouldn't be dependent on the subjective reac- tion of the victim, the judge said that just as the thin-skulled victim argument can advance a prosecu- tion, a person's resilience could as- sist the defence as well. "Far from having a thin skull, the teller in this case had a thick skin. While others might have reasonably been frightened, she did not experience any fear at all. In these unique circumstances, a properly instructed jury, act- ing reasonably, could not find that there was an implied threat that was accompanied by a rea- sonable apprehension of harm. There was no robbery." POLL RESULTS The results of the latest Law Times online poll are in. The majority of respondents say they're happy with the prov- ince's recent changes to legal aid eligibility. Last month, the provincial government announced $95.7 million in funding over three years to increase the eligibil- ity threshold for certificates, duty counsel, and legal clinic services. According to the poll, 54 per cent of respondents felt the an- nouncement was great news as the changes are long overdue while the remaining participants felt there's still a long way to go to ensuring people can get legal assistance. LT "I know we have insurance, George, but I still don't think it's a good idea to fire you so you can sue the firm for $55 million." Ontario Court of Justice Photo: Pigrox/Shutterstock

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