Law Times

Law Times • November 26, 2012 Missing DVD footage questioned OBA lauds decision NEWS perjury in court, requires Crown attorneys to report to their super- visors if a judge has found officers lied in court. "This is the case where if I were the Crown attorney, I'd definitely Continued from page 1 consider reporting it and allow the police an opportunity to in- vestigate if there was in fact police perjury, specialist in criminal law who has dealt with police brutality cases. "Most police officers are good " says Weisberg, a certified people that are doing their best to be honest and forthright. The dif- ficult thing is that there are always going to be bad apples," he says. Ironically, both officers told the who's also a breathalyzer techni- cian, asking Richard, "Did you wet yourself earlier?" Richard replied, "When you guys were knocking me down, yeah." When Richard mentioned wiping blood off his head because of "whatever you guys did, told him, "We'll talk about that in a second. " Sonier what was said during the talk that followed because the footage ends shortly before Sonier took Rich- ard' " But the court never heard court that Richard was apologetic and talking slowly during his ar- rest. Sonier even went as far as calling the accused a "charming" individual, something the judge said couldn't be reconciled with the way the officers described his resistance to arrest. "I have no doubt that Mr. Rich- ard was co-operative from his ini- tial encounter with officer Sonier through to the time of his release from custody, his ruling. "It' " Campbell said in stand how Mr. Richard could have received injury to his upper right thigh . . . from apparent pressure attributable to officer Sonier' to Mr. Richard's leſt shoulder and officer Polachuk's knee on Mr. Richard's right leg. s knee clear and at least inconsistent with the location and extent of at least some of the injuries sustained. The judge referred to the of- "The officers were at best un- " ficers' "collective inability to de- scribe the fall from the pickup truck with any detail" as one of the reasons for rejecting their story. "They were Get convenient access to the most current insurance law – all in one practical resource. WHAT'S NEW IN THIS EDITION This edition includes updates to the latest legislation and regulations, and additional forms such as: there, next to him and touch- ing him. Both officers apparently tried to stop him from falling, but somehow couldn't. There is no ex- planation. standing right Sonier, according to the rul- ing, said he reached into Richard's " pickup truck in order to turn off the ignition aſter the accused failed to do so. But Richard said that wasn't true, adding he didn't fall while getting out of the vehicle and obeyed when told to move far away from it. According to Richard' of events, Sonier went to the truck to retrieve a wallet and, upon his return, told him to kneel down. He was bending down when "sud- denly, Sonier grabbed one arm and immediately struck him with a knee to his right thigh," the court heard. Richard also told the court Po- s version lachuk grabbed his other arm as he was forced to the ground. The accused, a former horse racer, said the blow was "worse than having been kicked by a horse. the accused was taken into the breath room for an examination. Part of a DVD recording pre- sented to the court shows Sonier, Once at police headquarters, " www.lawtimesnews.com • New Professional Services Guideline, Superintendent's Guideline No. 03/12 • New Certificate of Automobile Insurance (Ontario) • New Minor Injury Guideline • New Section A of Dispute Resolution Practice Code • New Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund (MVACF) forms ORDER # 985049-65203 $96 Softcover 1560 pages September 2012 978-0-7798-5049-5 Annual volumes available on standing order subscription Multiple copy discounts available Shipping and handling are extra. Price subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. AVAILABLE RISK-FREE s difficult for me to under- New eDItION CONSOLIDATED ONTARIO INSURANCE STATUTES AND REGULATIONS 2012 CONSultING eDItOR: AlAN l. RAChlIN the rest of the tape, Sonier said the equipment might have malfunc- tioned and that he figured it was because it was new. But the officer in charge of s second breath sample. When asked what happened to was on the street" during the miss- ing half of the recording. "There is no reason to believe Continued from page 1 [the] equipment failed to record but for the testimony of officer Sonier, which was, at best, equivo- cal," Campbell said. According to the new policy, if a judge makes a finding that po- lice officers were untruthful or the Crown attorney believes police were dishonest, the prosecutor is required to report the case to a su- pervising Crown who will decide if there was a deliberate attempt to mislead and then pass the case to a regional officer. The regional offi- cer then reports the case to police to investigate. A policy that requires report- equipment in the breath room told the court that he wasn't told about the missing footage until February 2011 and that the device in question was a year old by the time Richard walked in the room. Richard could only remember that Sonier was "angrier . . . like he ing alleged police dishonesty is a step in the right direction to en- sure public confidence in the sys- tem, says Weisberg. "Will it solve [police perjury]? Likely not," he adds. "Most people who hit the box on the witness stand and are determined to lie believe that they wont get caught." LT ground, and class is entrenched in the industry wasn't a matter of debate. Those who are troubled with the existing system are not "people The fact that discrimination based on race, educational back- that are white and are summering at Bay Street firms," Bencher Julian Falconer said. He supported the majority report. Bencher Sydney Robins echoed a similar sentiment. "Top students can get articling, average students can get articling positions. . . . . It's poorer, minority" graduates who struggle, he said. Bencher Barbara Murchie contended that there' the standards expected of new lawyers. Large numbers of viewers watched Thursday' abolishing articling will lead to more competent lawyers. She also said the majority' s no evidence that webcast. During the debate, the articling topic trended on Twitter as anxious law students, lawyers, and members of the public weighed in. Shortly aſter the vote, the Ontario Bar Association gave its blessing to the law society's decision. s motion "strengthens and consolidates" s debate online via a for articling and a law practice program to be the right way forward for the profession and the public," said OBA President Morris Cho- chla in a statement released on Thursday. Chochla added the OBA "is looking forward to working with the "The OBA believes adoption of the majority opinion which allows law society as it irons out the details to best protect the interests of the profession and the public in this exciting pilot project." The decision before Convocation was "unprecedented, er Linda Rothstein. "So much blood has been spilled on those two posi- tions. It has been a charged, emotional, and difficult journey. " " said Bench- LT PAGE 5 FOR 30 DAYS Order online: www.carswell.com Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 In Toronto: 416-609-3800

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