Law Times

Page 16 December 4, 2017 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com INITIATIVE LAUNCHES To increase affordable legal sup- port in family law, the Legal In- novation Zone at Ryerson has launched the Global Family Justice Initiative. The project has received funding through a $100,000 Ontario Law Founda- tion grant and from an anony- mous donor. The initiative is comprised of family law practitioners, aca- demics, psychologists and others involved in family law and seeks to develop new ways to provide family law services. The initiative is underway and has four parts, including the Family Law Innovation Conference, set for 2018. "The goal is one we all share, finding families in the throes of sepa- ration, the support, the legal advice, the services they need, in the way they need it," says Chris Bentley, managing director of the Legal Innovation Zone. STAFF LAWYER TO BE HIRED Innocence Canada is hiring a staff lawyer, a year after budget shortfalls caused plans to scale down its operation necessitated a cash infusion from the On- tario government and the Law Society of Upper Canada to regain stability. Debbie Oakley, executive di- rector of Innocence Canada and the Innocence Canada Foundation, says they have done a caseload audit and looked at every aspect of their operations to increase efficiency. Oakley says Innocence Canada is currently handling about 70 cases, down from 90, having trimmed those for which it had no leads. Jerome Kennedy, an as- sociate at Roebothan McKay Marshall Accident and In- jury Law and board member of Innocence Canada, says that the dire financial straits led to positive changes in the organi- zation. "The financial situation [in] which we found ourselves actu- ally resulted in us analyzing all of our cases and getting very up to date on where we are and in the work that needs to be done," he says. "So, in turn, from a very negative situation came some benefits in terms of getting some more cases filed with the CCRG and also from assessing our caseload." SERVICE WIDENS As of Nov. 27, online civil claims filing is available across Ontario, according to the Min- istry of the Attorney Gen- eral. The new service follows a similar online filing system for small claims court. The pilot project for the on- line civil claims filing was tested in Brampton, London, New- market, Ottawa, Sudbury and Toronto. 26 % NO, I DO NOT AGREE YES, I AGREE 74 % LAW TIMES POLL Law Times reported that new legislation that has been pro- posed would require the Special Investigations Unit to report publicly on its investigations, in- cluding when it determines that charges against an officer are not warranted. Law Times asked readers if this would encourage systemic change. Seventy-four per cent said that yes, the SIU should provide the public with explanations of why charges against an offi- cer are not warranted if a civil- ian is seriously injured or dies. Twenty-six per cent said no, this information should be kept in- ternal to the investigative bodies and is not necessary to disclose to the public. LT u Bizarre Briefs By Viola James u The InsIde story Chris Bentley says there needs to be sim- pler and more affordable legal support for family law needs. TOURISTS FINED FOR BUTT SELFIE BANGKOK — Thai authorities have fined two American tourists for public indecency for pos- ing for a "butt selfie" in front of a famous Bud- dhist temple. The two, identified as Joseph Dasilva, 38, and Travis Dasilva, 36, were arrested late on Nov. 28 at an airport in Bangkok, reports Reuters. They were each fined 5,000 baht ($197) for baring their buttocks for a picture taken the week before at Bangkok's Wat Arun. "The two American citizens have admitted taking the picture," district police chief Jaruphat Thongkomol told Reuters. The predominantly Buddhist country is deeply conservative and public nudity is con- sidered offensive. The two men had an Instagram account, which showcased similar selfies taken at tourist sites around the world. The account had been deleted on Nov. 29. Jaruphat said the two would also be fined for a similar picture taken at another temple in Bangkok. They were being held at an immigration detention centre while police considered a pos- sible violation of Thailand's Computer Crime Act, as the photograph was uploaded online, Jaruphat said. WOMAN ARRESTED FOR STEALING ZEBRA HEAD ANCHORAGE — An Alaska woman came home to discover a thief had broken into her home and stolen clothing, jewelry, prescription drugs — and a zebra head she had on a wall, ac- cording to The Associated Press. A security camera recorded a woman car- rying items, including the zebra head, out the front door of Stacy Scott's Anchorage home Nov. 24 and into a waiting cab. "Being so brazen to come into someone's home, make yourself comfortable and literally leave by calling a cab and putting a zebra in the back," Scott said to KTVA. Scott told the Anchorage television station that she had received the zebra head from a friend. She named the head George. Police arrested 38-year-old Desiree Fuller at an Anchorage motel where the cab driver had dropped her off. The suspect is charged with felony burglary and theft. FOIL TRICK FOILED PERTH — A man in Australia was fired after he relied on a 180-year-old scientific discovery to help prevent his colleagues from discovering his whereabouts while he played golf during work hours. Tom Colella, a 60-year-old electrician in Perth, lost his job after an anonymous letter to his firm claimed that he left work to play golf at least 140 times over the last two years. Australia's Fair Work Commission, a work- place tribunal, heard that Colella blocked his whereabouts by storing his personal digital as- sistant, a phone-like device that has a GPS in- side, in an empty foil packet of Twisties, a puffy cheese-based snack that is popular in Australia. The tribunal found that the foil packet was deliberately used to operate as an elaborate "Faraday cage" — an enclosure that can block electromagnetic fields — and prevented his em- ployer knowing his location. The cage setup was named after English sci- entist Michael Faraday, who in 1836 observed that a continuous covering of conductive ma- terial — such as foil — could be used to block electromagnetic fields. The tribunal ruled that Colella was fairly fired and that he had been "deliberate in trying to hide his whereabouts and deceive his em- ployer." It also relied on less scientific evidence, in- cluding records from the golf club and records from an electronic gate that showed that he had not entered a worksite as required. LT "We're an organic, artificial intelligence-free firm, incorporating only 100-per-cent natural intelligence." Genuine © 2017 Stewart. All rights reserved. See policies for full terms and conditions. At Stewart Title, we've worked hard to build a company where integrity is the keystone in all our dealings. With us what you see is what you get — comprehensive title insurance coverage, experienced underwriters and support for your practice. Learn more about our level of support, call (888) 667-5151 or visit stewart.ca. Untitled-5 1 2017-09-12 8:17 AM

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