Law Times

Law TiMes • May 7, 2012 Judges should be able to speak bluntly: Morton NEWS Continued from page 1 "You don't get to call the shots anymore," McMunagle told Rastegar during the conference. " All you get to do, sir, is write a cheque, straight up. I know that's not how they work in different countries, and particularly I have some knowledge of Iran." Prior to hearing any evidence or submissions, McMunagle also told Rastegar his Iranian mar- riage contract was "not worth the paper it' "not a legally binding contract." As a result, he refused to put any weight on it. When Rastegar suggested that McMunagle was "kind of not impartial about whatever hap- pened back in Iran," the judge interrupted him. "I have some knowledge of Sharia law and we all know how badly women are treated under Sharia law, sponded. "We don't have people " he re- Dean calls for new Continued from page 1 s written on" and was being stoned to death in this country because they happened to look at a man or they're not wearing a veil or whatever. to pay about $33,000 in retro- active child support. He also ordered him to pay retroactive spousal McMunagle ordered Rastegar " 2010 of $14,808 and $510 per month in ongoing spousal sup- port. While Siahbazi hadn't in- itially sought spousal support in her order, McMunagle added it in anyway and she agreed. According to the Divisional support for 2009 and Supreme Court of Canada in D.B.S. v. S.R.G., the Divisional Court found. "In this case, the conference Morton, for example, says while McMunagle's interruptions and statements about Rastegar's Court ruling, McMunagle based his order on the discrep- ancy in the parties' incomes and DIVORCEmate calculations pre- pared by counsel for Siahbazi. When Rastegar asked how long he'd have to pay spousal support, McMunagle told him "until there's no difference between what you make and what she makes." McMunagle also imposed the retroactive child support obliga- tion without any consideration of the criteria outlined by the judge was only at liberty to make final orders on consent," the Divisional Court found. "There is no doubt from reading the transcript that the consent or ac- quiescence of Mr. Rastegar was conscripted by misinformation and coercive pressure from the presiding judicial officer. The lack of true consent in this case vitiates the terms of the order in relation to retroactive payments and on- going spousal support." Siahbazi' her order for child and spousal support over the lunch break, according s lawyer had draſted Although Rastegar verbally agreed to the order, he never signed it. The Divisional Court deci- to the latest ruling. sion has raised eyebrows among some members of the bar who say McMunagle' larger issues about the province's s actions highlight justice system and the treatment of individuals in court. culture were unfortunate, judges should be able to speak bluntly to the parties before them. He notes that preventing judges from speaking openly in settlement conferences could create signifi- cant problems that would ultim- ately cost time and money. "Settlement conferences are necessary for a more efficient and effective justice system," says Morton. "Moving cases from trial settlement makes sense finan- cially and it saves everyone time. If judges can't speak bluntly about what will and will not work for a client in their particular case, the conference can't work." But Ruby says the case high- to lights broader issues about di- versity among the judiciary. "If you look at it this way, of the last 100 judicial appointments by the Tories, 98 per cent of them have been white men. Perhaps if we increased diversity among the judiciary, there would be more re- spect for different cultures." McMunagle isn't the only Ontario judge to have raised eye- brows recently through pointed comments in the courtroom. In March, for example, the Ontario Court of Appeal criticized Ontario Court Justice Howard Chisvin for throwing out a slew of cases aſter he grew impatient while waiting for a Crown attor- ney to return to the courtroom. Morton, however, says judges' jobs are difficult and cautions against going too far in censoring them from being blunt and hon- est about what' the justice system run effectively. "Some of the statements Justice s necessary to make McMunagle made were really un- fortunate, but at the same time a judge can't pussyfoot around such important issues," says Morton. "I think it' we have such strong voices from our judges and I think we should be very careful not to have the pendulum swing entirely the other way. s a good thing that " approaches demand and perhaps it's time we " But Sossin says that as more and more students enter Ontario's law schools, the profession should resist positions in the interim that won't meet their needs. "We have to be careful not to the urge to simply create create articling positions just for the sake of creating positions," says Sossin. "That being said, there really is no advantage to having 15 per cent of law students looking for an articling position only to discover there are none. Other provinces don't seem to have this problem and I think Ontario could benefit from alternative pathways to arti- cling that would expose law stu- dents to more choices." According to Sossin, options could include a merit- focused approach to based on grades and the creation of a more structured and support- ive program that would offer an alternative to the 10-month arti- cling position currently required. "I think a number of are possible here with the right amount of planning and politi- cal will, things there's any appetite for maintaing the status quo." " says Sossin. "I don't sense continue to focus on what he can do to give himself a competitive edge on the articling front even if the shortage continues to grow. "Right now, I think a lot of stu- In the meantime, Lin says he'll articling Sure, we could tell you that our client was awarded the largest personal injury judgment in Canadian history and that all our principal partners are past-presidents of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association. We could also mention that our firm was voted top five in its field in Canada and that we have a five out of five preeminent peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell. All those achievements and honours don't just happen. They're the result of the way we work and the way we care for our clients. Don't take our word for it... ask around. When you know someone with a personal injury case, call the lawyers that lawyers recommend most. Ask about our competitive referral fees. find a different pathway to address that issue. LT PAGE 5 those dents are just focusing on what they can do and are trying not to concern themselves too much with the statistics," he says. "Perhaps we take a rather myopic view of the situation, but what can you do when it' passionate about?" s something you're really LT Untitled-3 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 12-04-30 4:35 PM A Noticeable Difference ™ TORONTO I BARRIE I HAMILTON I 1-888-909-2904 I www.mcleishorlando.com

• Cover