Friday, April 30, 2010

Courts, Cameras and 1152 Years in Prison

Really? I don't usually disagree with Talk Left's Jaralyn Merritt, but she loses me with this comment on a Denver sentencing hearing:

Forcing a defendant to be on television is wrong. Cameras in the courtroom should be allowed only if the defendant consents.

If there is any right to cameras in courtrooms, that right surely belongs to the public, rather than criminally-charged defendants - especially convicted ones.

The balance of her post, which addresses the absurdity of sentencing anyone to 1,152 years in prison, is bang-on, however.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

EMPLOYMENT LAWCIVIL LITIGATIONWILLS AND ESTATESFAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOGSUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Ontario Paralegals and Family Court Representation

Ontario's paralegals will proceed with a motion at the Law Society of Upper Canada's annual general meeting on May 5, 2010, seeking study of paralegals' entitlement to act in provincial Family Court matters.

The Toronto Star reports:

The motion calls on the law society’s board of governors to examine the concept of allowing paralegals to prepare family law documents, represent clients in family court and draft uncontested divorces — and to report on why it recommends or opposes the idea.

Yarmus said he is merely asking for a return to the status quo, before the law society began licensing and regulating paralegals in 2007 and restricted their practices. Many paralegals worked in family courts prior to 2007 and have since lost their businesses, he said.

But Roy Thomas, the law society’s director of communications, said paralegals were allowed to appear in family court in the past only with a court’s permission.

“The unauthorized practice of law, particularly in the delicate area of family law, poses a very serious risk to the public,” Thomas said.

While the motion has garnered predictable opposition from interest groups like Ontario's Family Lawyers' Association, anyone who has been anywhere near an Ontario Court of Justice recently cannot help but have noticed the overwhelming number of unrepresented litigants in the hallways and courtrooms - often bogging down the court's time and docket with missing paperwork, misguided submissions, and a general confusion regarding appropriate decorum in the courts.

Paralegal representation would help alleviate this increasing connundrum.

While paralegals are not lawyers, they are now wholly regulated by the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Regulation means accountability. The paralegal profession is no longer the wild, wild west.

The paralegals' request is limited and moderate - they do not seek opportunity to represent Ontarians in contested family law matters in the federal Ontario Superior Court of Justice system, which has exclusive jurisdiction to address family property issues.

It is in the interests of the Ontario public that a highly skilled paralegal profession be developed and encouraged - and that includes fostering professional awareness and responsibility among paralegals as to when they must serve their clients' interests by referring complex matters out to counsel.

Access to justice must be more than a slogan. If the only alternative to representation by a lawyer in this Province's family courts is self-representation, many litigants will have no choice but to proceed on their own.

If family law is too complex for trained paralegals, as some contend, just imagine the rubic's cube it represents to the average, unrepresented parent or separated spouse, especially where English is not that individual's first language.

Who is left to pick up the pieces?

Ontario Court judges, of course.

The naysayers must recognize reality - some people simply cannot afford to retain lawyers. They will not come to us.

They deserve another, accesible option in the provincial family court system.

There is no reason why the Law Society cannot develop a family law CLE accreditation process for paralegals - one that will safely permit our statutory regulator to unlock the gates of Ontario's provincial domestic courts for specifically accredited and qualified licenced paralegals.

The critical question is how paralegal family court access should be controlled and monitored. This question deserves study.

The motion should be given very serious consideration.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

EMPLOYMENT LAWCIVIL LITIGATIONWILLS AND ESTATESFAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOGSUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Bilingual Supreme Court of Canada Bill to Die in Senate?

Via Big City Liberal:

Here is Manitoba Senator Donald Neil Plett, a Harper appointee:

"I am very proud to say that our Government is guided by the principles of merit and legal excellence in the selection and appointment of judges to Canada’s superior and federal courts. Therefore, we will not support Mr. Godin’s Bill.

Bill C-232 would hinder regional representation by reducing the pool of highly qualified candidates from regions where fewer individuals are capable of hearing a case in both official languages."


Notice the use of "we"; I am assuming this means that the Tory Senators will be voting as a bloc, and not that Mr. Plett prefers the majestic plural.

I've previously articulated my own opposition to Bill C-232 here and here.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

EMPLOYMENT LAWCIVIL LITIGATIONWILLS AND ESTATESFAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOGSUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Arizona Immigration Boycot Gains Traction

New York Times
reports on a fledgling movement that calls for an economic boycott of the State of Arizona in response to that State's sweeping and controversial immigration legislation, signed into law last week:

A spreading call for an economic boycott of Arizona after its adoption of a tough immigration law that opponents consider racially discriminatory worried business leaders on Monday and angered the governor.

Several immigrant advocates and civil rights groups, joined by members of the San Francisco government, said the state should pay economic consequences for the new law, which gives the police broad power to detain people they reasonably suspect are illegal immigrants and arrest them on state charges if they do not have legal status.

Critics say the law will lead to widespread ethnic and racial profiling and will be used to harass legal residents and Latino citizens.

The legislation:

  • Requires officials and agencies to reasonably attempt to determine the immigration status of a person involved in a lawful contact where reasonable suspicion exists regarding the immigration status of the person, except if the determination may hinder or obstruct an investigation.
  • Stipulates that a law enforcement official or agency cannot solely consider race, color or national origin when implementing these provisions, except as permitted by the U.S. or Arizona Constitution.
  • Specifies that a person is presumed to be lawfully present if the person provides any of the following:

- A valid Arizona driver license.

- A valid Arizona nonoperating identification license.

- A valid tribal enrollment card or other form of tribal identification.

- A valid federal, state or local government issued identification, if the issuing entity requires proof of legal presence before issuance.

Full text of Arizona's Bill 1070 is here.

Also see: Boycott the Arizona Diamondbacks from C&L; Legal Battles Expected over Arizona’s New Immigration Law from ABA Journal

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

EMPLOYMENT LAWCIVIL LITIGATIONWILLS AND ESTATESFAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOGSUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Whatever Happened To...

...Orly Taitz, birther barrister extraordinaire?

Life goes on, apparently, and as the seasons go round-and-round, her birther batting average remains unbroken at a perfect .000.

Most recently, on April 15, a District of Columbia U.S. District Court ruled in Taitz v. Obama:

This is one of several such suits filed by Ms. Taitz in her quixotic attempt to prove that President Obama is not a natural born citizen as required by [the] Constitution. See U.S. Const. art. II, § 1. This Court is not willing to go tilting at windmills with her.

(Tilting at windmills "is an English idiom which means attacking imaginary enemies, or fighting unwinnable or futile battles" - from Wikipedia).

See: Birther-In-Chief Orly Taitz Loses Again at Lowering the Bar

Video: Eugene Volokh on Why You Should Read Law Blogs

Volokh Consipracy's Eugene Volokh, Professor of Law at UCLA, speaks on the role of law blogs as a source of immediate, expert information and opinion in the modern media marketplace:

(h/t - Point of Law)

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

EMPLOYMENT LAWCIVIL LITIGATIONWILLS AND ESTATESFAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOGSUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Friday, April 23, 2010

Toronto Taser Report Released

Toronto Star reports on a report released yesterday that documents Taser use by the City's police force:

The chief’s annual report for 2009 CEW use — which he described as “the most comprehensive report of public accountability on the use of energy conducted weapons in any police service to our knowledge — shows Tasers were drawn 307 times in 273 incidents.

Taser use by Toronto police resulted in only two minor injuries, a scraped knee and a bump on the head, but no serious harm or death. There were 18 cases of unintentional discharge and the devices were used on animals in nine calls.

...This demonstrated force presence was effective in 45.4 per cent of the cases Toronto in which police used Tasers last year... About 40 per cent of those brought under control with Tasers were believed to be emotionally disturbed and/or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

EMPLOYMENT LAWCIVIL LITIGATIONWILLS AND ESTATESFAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOGSUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Flushing Out the System

Toilet reform comes to Ontario this summer - Ontario to ban toilets that waste water:

In fact, the province is home to a leader in high-tech toilet engineering, Gauley said, pointing to Ontario firm Hennessy & Hinchcliffe, which developed the three-litre Proficiency toilet. “The three-litre toilet, an Ontario development, is the most efficient toilet in North America,” he said.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

EMPLOYMENT LAWCIVIL LITIGATIONWILLS AND ESTATESFAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOGSUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

More on the 'Bilingual Supeme Court of Canada' Bill

Canadian Press reports on the legal community's reaction to Bill C-232, an Act to require that all future Supreme Court nominees be functionally bilingual:

Reviews from the legal community are scathing.

"Stupid," "scary," "ill-conceived" and "pandering" are just some of the adjectives used to describe New Brunswick MP Yvon Godin's proposal -- and those come from lawyers and jurists who believe the bill is actually well-intentioned.

"I think it's a bad idea; a very, very bad idea," said David Scott, a pre-eminent Ottawa lawyer who has represented federal commissions of inquiry, the Government of Canada and former prime minister Jean Chretien.

To reiterate my own views:

This vital judicial institution should not be compromised on the altar of feel-good politics.

The proposed amendment is a truly bad idea that should be dropped.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

EMPLOYMENT LAWCIVIL LITIGATIONWILLS AND ESTATESFAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOGSUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Black: Lehman Fraud, "Liar's Loans," Major Causes of Global Financial Crisis

...and regulators did nothing to stop it.

Watch this eye-opening statement by William K. Black, Associate Professor of Economics and Law at the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law, as he testifies before the House Financial Services Committee:

Lehman’s failure is a story in large part of fraud. And it is fraud that begins at the absolute latest in 2001, and that is with their subprime and liars’ loan operations.

Lehman was the leading purveyor of liars’ loans in the world. For most of this decade, studies of liars’ loans show incidence of fraud of 90%. Lehmans sold this to the world, with reps and warranties that there were no such frauds. If you want to know why we have a global crisis, in large part it is before you. But it hasn’t been discussed today, amazingly.




According to Wikipedia's biography of William K. Black:
Black is currently an Associate Professor of Economics and Law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. He was the Executive Director of the Institute for Fraud Prevention from 2005-2007 and previously taught at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, and at Santa Clara University. Black was litigation director for the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, deputy director of the FSLIC, SVP and the General Counsel of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco."

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

EMPLOYMENT LAWCIVIL LITIGATIONWILLS AND ESTATESFAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOGSUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Richmond Hill Woman Sentenced in Extreme Fitness 'Parking Mayhem' Trial

Remember this?



The Toronto Star reports on the trial of Tripta Kashaul, the 62 year old Richmond Hill driver whose parking skills, as demonstrated on YouTube, could perhaps have used a bit of refinement:
Kaushal pleaded guilty Tuesday to a charge of failing to report, and was given a $500 fine and ordered to pay restitution to the two victims whose vehicles she damaged. She was also given six months probation and is restricted from driving between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.

The trial was heard at Newmarket, Ontario on Tuesday April 20, 2010.

CityNews also has this story here.

(h/t - Pseudo)

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

EMPLOYMENT LAWCIVIL LITIGATIONWILLS AND ESTATESFAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOGSUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

More on the Google Hacks

Via Washington Post - Google hackers duped system administrators to penetrate networks, experts say:
The hackers who penetrated the computer networks of Google and more than 30 other large companies used an increasingly common means of attack: duping system administrators and other executives who have access to passwords, intellectual property and other information, according to cybersecurity experts familiar with the cases.
"Once you gain access to the directory of user names and passwords, in minutes you can take over a network," said George Kurtz, worldwide chief technology officer for McAfee, a Silicon Valley computer security firm that has been working with more than half a dozen of the targeted companies.
...

"The bottom line here is if your company has any business dealings with China or has extremely valuable technology or intellectual property, you have a high likelihood of being a target," said Rob Lee, a director with Mandiant, a security firm that is working with some of the targeted companies.

He said he believes the same group or groups that have targeted Google and the other companies have penetrated "hundreds if not thousands" more firms. They target not only system administrators but anyone with privileged access to a company's network, he said.

Also see our post yesterday, Google Password Breach: Reason Anew To Doubt Security in the Cloud? and Dave Bilinsky's similarly-minded commentary at Slaw, Can You be too Paranoid?

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

EMPLOYMENT LAWCIVIL LITIGATIONWILLS AND ESTATESFAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOGSUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

On Sidney Crosby, Olympic Hockey and U.S. Flag Desecration (!)

CTV News: Canadians in U.S. may face charges for hockey celebration

Police in California say two Canadians who took down an American flag and replaced it with a Canadian following Sidney Crosby's golden goal at the Olympics could face charges of vandalism and flag desecration.

Natural Disasters

The unscientific divide on the cause of this planet's spate of recent natural disasters is ever-widening.

Are we observing the consequences of God's displeasure at women who wear immodest clothing and behave promiscuously?


Bilingualism and the Supreme Court of Canada

The National Post gets it right on Bill C-232, which will amend the Supreme Court Act to require that all future appointees to the Court be functionally bilingual in French and English, Canada's two official languages:
If Bill C-232--a private member's bill that passed in the House of Commons last month -- is approved by the Senate, future seats on the Supreme Court of Canada will be reserved only for judges who are fluently bilingual. Judges who speak only French or only English will be barred. This puts the linguistic cart before the judicial horse and makes language skills more important than legal acumen. It also ensures that in the future our top court will be dominated by judges from Quebec and small pockets of bilingualism in Ottawa and New Brunswick.

If Mr. Godin's bill were already the law of the land, only two of the current sitting justices would have qualified for their current posts; none of the English-speaking judges would have. Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, for instance, would not have made it, despite being one of the most competent chief justices in recent history. Are she and the other half dozen unilingual French or English judges unfit as a result of their unilingual ability? Is the need for judges to have arguments translated really threatening justice at our highest court?

...According to the last census, 42% of francophones claim fluency in both official languages, while just under 10% of anglophones do. But only tiny fractions of both bilingual populations would ever be fluent enough to make it to the court. Should Mr. Godin's bill pass the Senate, the Supreme Court would become so unreflective of this country's people it would rapidly lose credibility as a national institution.
The Bill, which is now before the Senate after passing Third Reading in the House on March 31, 2010, provides:
An Act to amend the Supreme Court Act (understanding the official languages)
1. Section 5 of the Supreme Court Act is renumbered as subsection 5(1) and is amended by adding the following:
(2) In addition, any person referred to in subsection (1) may be appointed a judge who understands French and English without the assistance of an interpreter.
It is difficult to envision how the proposed change will result in a more qualified and competent Supreme Court of Canada, at least based on today's Canadian demographics.

This vital judicial institution should not be compromised on the altar of feel-good politics.

The proposed amendment is a truly bad idea that should be dropped.
- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

EMPLOYMENT LAWCIVIL LITIGATIONWILLS AND ESTATESFAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOGSUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Google Password Breach: Reason Anew To Doubt Security in the Cloud?

I've said it before:

Professionals who rely on the "Cloud" for the storage of confidential data do so at their own - and their clients' - very serious peril.

The latest on a January 2010 security breach at Google demonstrates yet again just how fragile the Cloud's security firewall may be, particularly when confronted by increasingly sophisticated international espionage and crime.

For the uninitiated, Wikipedia describes Cloud computing as:
Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software and information are provided to computers and other devices on-demand, like a public utility... Typical cloud computing providers deliver common business applications online which are accessed from another web service or software like a web browser, while the software and data are stored on servers.
New York Times reports today on the Google hack that occured earlier this year:

Ever since Google disclosed in January that Internet intruders had stolen information from its computers, the exact nature and extent of the theft has been a closely guarded company secret. But a person with direct knowledge of the investigation now says that the losses included one of Google’s crown jewels, a password system that controls access by millions of users worldwide to almost all of the company’s Web services, including e-mail and business applications.

...The intruders do not appear to have stolen passwords of Gmail users, and the company quickly started making significant changes to the security of its networks after the intrusions. But the theft leaves open the possibility, however faint, that the intruders may find weaknesses that Google might not even be aware of, independent computer experts said.

...The new details seem likely to increase the debate about the security and privacy of vast computing systems such as Google’s that now centralize the personal information of millions of individuals and businesses. Because vast amounts of digital information are stored in one place, popularly referred to as “cloud” computing, a single breach can lead to disastrous losses
...The details surrounding the theft of the software have been a closely guarded secret by the company. Google first publicly disclosed the theft in a Jan. 12 posting on the company’s Web site, which stated that the company was changing its policy toward China in the wake of the theft of unidentified “intellectual property” and the apparent compromise of the e-mail accounts of two human rights advocates in China.

I know that there are many credible, highly regarded consultants who urge lawyers and other professionals in the direction of the Cloud, often without hesitation. Many tout the Cloud as the inevitable womb and backbone of all our future digital undertakings.

There is much in the Cloud to be impress, but once again, when it comes to privileged or sensitive professional data, I say not so fast....

It is simply not an adequately secure environment.

We long ago resigned ourselves to the reality that Microsoft is no match for even modestly talented amateur hackers, but if Google can't stop these serious intrusions, I am not sure who can.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

EMPLOYMENT LAWCIVIL LITIGATIONWILLS AND ESTATESFAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOGSUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Ontario Human Rights Tribunal "Overwhelmed" With Cases: Toronto Star

The Toronto Star's Moira Welsh looks at the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, nearly two years after the implementation of sweeping procedural changes in the adjudication of human rights complaints in the Province:

The new system was created to clear away a massive backlog. Prior to June 2008, human rights complaints were vetted by the Ontario Human Rights Commission, which would decide which cases would be sent to the tribunal for hearing. It took years to investigate complaints and decide whether to pass them on to hearings or mediation.
In 2009, the tribunal received 3,400 new cases, a jump of more than 1,000 from the old system.
...Under the old system, there would be a final decision in only 15 hearings a year. Now, the tribunal is issuing decisions at least 15 times each month.

See: Complaints overwhelm human rights watchdog, which includes discussion of a number of recent Tribunal decisions.

I'll note that this article doesn't include much evidence to support its claim that the Tribunal itself is "overwhelmed" or otherwise unable to handle its increasing case load, but hyperbolic headline aside, it's still well worth reading.

Sexual Harassment Claims by Males Increasing

An interesting trend is emerging in American workplaces, spotted by the Workplace Prof Blog:
Recent EEOC and BLS data is showing an increase in the number of sexual harassment claims filed by men. Such claims have gone up 12% over the last three years and now stand at 16.4% of all sexual harassment claims filed with the EEOC. Part of the reason may be that more men have lost their jobs during the recession and, as readers know, when it's harder to find work, employment claims tend to rise. Indeed, states with particularly severe unemployment--like California, West Virginia, and Michigan have seen a comparably problem with male harassment claims. Although, interestingly, the highest rate is Utah, which has a low unemployment rate, but sees 32.% of its sexual harassment claims being made by men.

The Wall Street Journal's coverage looks more closely at the numbers:

Sexual harassment claims filed by men make up a larger percentage of claims than ever before.

State20092007
Utah32.2%21.7%
West Virginia27.333.3
Michigan26.616.6
Wyoming249.5
Wisconsin2318.7

See: More Men Make Harassment Claims

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

EMPLOYMENT LAWCIVIL LITIGATIONWILLS AND ESTATESFAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOGSUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG