Wise Law Blog

Stunt Driving, Street Justice?

2009-11-28T13:52:00.020-05:00

There's an interesting tidbit in this article from the Welland Tribune, calling for a halt to prosecutions under Ontario's street racing law, pending government appeals of two recent Ontario court decisions holding the law to be unconstitutional.

Did you know that over 10,000 people have been charged under this law since it came into effect in 2007? In fact, according to a CBC interview with Inspector Dave Ross of the Ontario Provincial Police, charges to date have actually numbered more than 15,000.

That's an awful lot of so-called "street racing" going on. So much so, I suspect, that many Ontarians might find these statistics rather stretching of credulity.

In his November 19, 2009 ruling in R. v. Drutz, 2009 ONCJ 537, Mr. Justice Peter West was clearly disinclined to legitimize the new statutory approach to gross speeding.

Noting the striking similarities in language between "the usual" speeding offences and the new stunt driving offence, he concluded the new law created an absolute liability offence. Such offenses allow for no defence to be raised.

In view of the very significant penalties applicable under the section, Mr. Justice West ruled the provision unconstitutional:

[33] It is my opinion that the subject matter of the legislation in issue is undoubtedly speeding, which the Court of Appeal has defined as an absolute liability offence. I am bound by that characterization. Further, it is my view that calling the conduct “stunt” driving does not change its characterization – it is still a speeding offence albeit by a different name. There is nothing about the manner of driving 50 or more kilometres above the speed limit in section 3(7) of the Regulations that elevates or differentiates the conduct from the conduct set out in section 128 (a speeding offence).

[47] However, in my view, the combination of section 172 of the HTA and section 3(7) of O. Reg. 455/07 is only open to one interpretation and having regard to my assessment that the conduct described by section 3(7) is an absolute liability offence, the possibility of the imposition of up to six months imprisonment thereby renders this section unconstitutional.

[53] Consequently, section 3(7) of O. Reg. 455/07 is unconstitutional and is of no force and effect. Applying the doctrine of severance, only that subsection need be severed from the Regulations. The charge against Ms.Drutz is therefore dismissed.

For background, here are the relevant extracts from Section 172 of Ontario's the Highway Traffic Act:

Racing, stunts, etc., prohibited
172. (1) No person shall drive a motor vehicle on a highway in a race or contest, while performing a stunt or on a bet or wager. 2007, c. 13, s. 21.
Offence
(2) Every person who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not less than $2,000 and not more than $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both, and in addition his or her driver’s licence may be suspended,
(a) on a first conviction under this section, for not more than two years; or
(b) on a subsequent conviction under this section, for not more than 10 years. 2007, c. 13, s. 21.
.. Police to require surrender of licence, detention of vehicle
(5) Where a police officer believes on reasonable and probable grounds that a person is driving, or has driven, a motor vehicle on a highway in contravention of subsection (1), the officer shall,
(a) request that the person surrender his or her driver’s licence; and
(b) detain the motor vehicle that was being driven by the person until it is impounded under clause (7) (b). 2007, c. 13, s. 21.
Administrative seven-day licence suspension
(6) Upon a request being made under clause (5) (a), the person to whom the request is made shall forthwith surrender his or her driver’s licence to the police officer and, whether or not the person is unable or fails to surrender the licence to the police officer, his or her driver’s licence is suspended for a period of seven days from the time the request is made. 2007, c. 13, s. 21.
Administrative seven-day vehicle impoundment
(7) Upon a motor vehicle being detained under clause (5) (b), the motor vehicle shall, at the cost of and risk to its owner,
(a) be removed to an impound facility as directed by a police officer; and
(b) be impounded for seven days from the time it was detained under clause (5) (b). 2007, c. 13, s. 21.
...No appeal or hearing
(13) There is no appeal from, or right to be heard before, a vehicle detention, driver’s licence suspension or vehicle impoundment under subsection (5), (6) or (7), but this subsection does not affect the taking of any proceeding in court. 2007, c. 13, s. 21.
Lien for storage costs
(14) The costs incurred by the person who operates the impound facility where a motor vehicle is impounded under this section are a lien on the motor vehicle that may be enforced under the Repair and Storage Liens Act. 2007, c. 13, s. 21.
Costs to be paid before release of vehicle
(15) The person who operates the impound facility where a motor vehicle is impounded under subsection (7) is not required to release the motor vehicle until the removal and impound costs for the vehicle have been paid. 2007, c. 13, s. 21.
...Intent of suspension and impoundment
(18) The suspension of a driver’s licence and the impoundment of a motor vehicle under this section are intended to promote compliance with this Act and to thereby safeguard the public and do not constitute an alternative to any proceeding or penalty arising from the same circumstances or around the same time. 2007, c. 13, s. 21.

Regulations enacted several months after Section 172 was passed, however, broadly expanded the definition of "stunt" under the provision. This significantly extended the new law's reach, to include cases where there was no underlying connection to stunts or racing, at all.

Take a look at subparagraphs 7 and 8, below:

Definition, “stunt”
3. For the purposes of section 172 of the Act, “stunt” includes any activity where one or more persons engage in any of the following driving behaviours:
1. Driving a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates an intention to lift some or all of its tires from the surface of the highway, including driving a motorcycle with only one wheel in contact with the ground, but not including the use of lift axles on commercial motor vehicles.
2. Driving a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates an intention to cause some or all of its tires to lose traction with the surface of the highway while turning.
3. Driving a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates an intention to spin it or cause it to circle, without maintaining control over it.
4. Driving two or more motor vehicles side by side or in proximity to each other, where one of the motor vehicles occupies a lane of traffic or other portion of the highway intended for use by oncoming traffic for a period of time that is longer than is reasonably required to pass another motor vehicle.
5. Driving a motor vehicle with a person in the trunk of the motor vehicle.
6. Driving a motor vehicle while the driver is not sitting in the driver’s seat.
7. Driving a motor vehicle at a rate of speed that is 50 kilometres per hour or more over the speed limit.
8. Driving a motor vehicle without due care and attention, without reasonable consideration for other persons using the highway or in a manner that may endanger any person by,
i. driving a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates an intention to prevent another vehicle from passing,
ii. stopping or slowing down a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates the driver’s sole intention in stopping or slowing down is to interfere with the movement of another vehicle by cutting off its passage on the highway or to cause another vehicle to stop or slow down in circumstances where the other vehicle would not ordinarily do so,
iii. driving a motor vehicle in a manner that indicates an intention to drive, without justification, as close as possible to another vehicle, pedestrian or fixed object on or near the highway, or
iv. making a left turn where,
(A) the driver is stopped at an intersection controlled by a traffic control signal system in response to a circular red indication;
(B) at least one vehicle facing the opposite direction is similarly stopped in response to a circular red indication; and
(C) the driver executes the left turn immediately before or after the system shows only a circular green indication in both directions and in a manner that indicates an intention to complete or attempt to complete the left turn before the vehicle facing the opposite direction is able to proceed straight through the intersection in response to the circular green indication facing that vehicle. O. Reg. 455/07, s. 3.

Was this anti-racing statute really intended to target people who momentarily speed up to pass large trucks on the highway? That appears to be how the law has been interpreted and enforced by Ontario's police forces.

Thou Who Killeth Not the Beast Shall Be Charged With Cruelty

2009-11-28T00:23:00.011-05:00

More from CBC today on the ridiculous turf war waged against the Toronto Humane Society by the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. This week's cruelty charges against five top Humane Society officials are summarized as follows:

“The animals are left to catch horrible diseases, die in their crates based on the euthanasia policy and refusing to let the veterinarians who work here to do their jobs,” Christopher Avery, lawyer for the OSPCA, charged.*

(*Translation for the uninitiatiated - "do their jobs" = kill animals)

The Toronto Humane Society's reluctance to "euthanize" is apparently considered cruelty by some in the animal welfare business.

I am glad these well-meaning folks don't have police powers in our hospitals.

What a sorry spectacle.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Palin Tells Canada to Ditch Public Health Care

2009-11-26T00:06:00.002-05:00

Oh my...

Sarah Palin inadvertently stepped into Canadian politics earlier this week when she told the crew of a CBC comedy show that America's northern neighbor should "reform its health care system and let the private sector take over" the country's medical services.
Comedian Mary Walsh of the comedy show This Hour Has 22 Minutes, a sort of Canadian Daily Show, stormed a recent Palin book-signing in Columbus, Ohio, and said to the former Alaska governor: "I just wanted to ask you if you have any words of encouragement for Canadian conservatives who have worked so hard to try to diminish the kind of socialized medicine we have up there."

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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The Mediation Mindset

2009-11-22T15:05:00.007-05:00

Victoria Pynchon's always-insightful Settle it Now Mediation Blog takes a close look today at the alternate mindset necessary for resolution of conflict through mediation, as opposed to litigation.

She argues that the litigation process necessarily adopts our collective inclination toward "good vs evil" narratives, while mediation, by contrast, emphasizes "interest-based, consensus building, collaborative, problem solving [and] negotiated resolution."

To succeed in mediation, she suggests, the litigation narrative must be dislodged.

She excerpts from Client Counseling, Mediation and Alternative Narratives of Dispute Resolution (Spring 2004) 10 Clinical L. Rev 833, by Law Professor Robert Rubinson, to underline this central point:

The meta-narrative of litigation maps these "strivings" and "vanquishings" onto the struggle of one party against another and enlists the aid of the court to vindicate justice on behalf of the wronged party. In contrast, the meta-narrative of mediation seeks to map these "strivings" and "vanquishings" onto a collaborative struggle to resolve conflict. This narrative casts all participants as players in a process - collaboration - that is focused on reaching the common goal of successfully resolving or transforming a dispute. This story has moral entailments because collaboration is accepted as a social and moral good. Unlike litigation, however, this story does not generate a binary moral universe that divides the good from the bad, but, rather, a universe that values collaborative striving to achieve common ground and resolution.

Needless to say, lawyers attending with clients at mediation play a major role in setting and maintaining the tone of the dialogue that ensues. While I'd argue that there is no one-size-fits-all-cases "mediation mindset," and there are indeed occasions where a "big stick" is warranted - even at mediation - Ms. Pynchon's analysis and comments are sound and largely on the mark.

Mediation works best when legal warriors lay down their swords (if only for the day).

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Workplace Harassment and Bill 168 - A New Remedy for an Old Problem

2009-11-20T14:23:00.008-05:00

Workplace bullying is a serious problem for thousands of Canadians at work. It can degrade one’s self worth and create serious health problems for workers and their families.

There has often been very little that could be done to stop the workplace bully in his or her tracks. But, in Ontario, there is now hope around the corner.

This month, Ontario’s Standing Committee on Social Policy will wrap up public hearings regarding Ontario's Bill 168, An Act to amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act with respect to violence and harassment in the workplace. The Bill, which will place heavier obligations on employers to prevent and manage workplace violence and harassment, has already been given second reading in the Legislature, and will likely become law sometime next year.

The new law defines "workplace harassment" and "workplace violence" in the following manner:

"Workplace harassment" means engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome.
"Workplace violence" means:
a. the exercise of physical force by a person against a worker in a workplace that causes or could cause physical injury to the worker,
b. an attempt to exercise physical force against a worker in a workplace that could cause physical injury to the worker.

This type of legislative initiative should be welcomed. Many employees live with the often horrific reality that the workplace can be a war zone from which there is no shelter.

Researchers Charlotte Rayner, Helge Hoel and Cary L. Cooper have contributed to our understanding of what may constitute workplace bullying.

In their book, Workplace Bullying: What We Know, Who is to Blame, and What We Can Do, they suggest that bullying may include:

Threat to professional status (e.g., damaging the person's reputation, humiliating the person in public or accusing him or her of lack of effort).
Threat to personal standing (e.g., calling the person names; insulting, teasing or intimidating him or her; or devaluing the person based on age).
Isolation (e.g., preventing access to opportunities, deliberately withholding important information or isolating the person physically or socially).
Overwork (e.g., imposing undue pressure to produce work, setting impossible deadlines or making consistent and unnecessary disruptions).
Destabilization (e.g., failing to give credit where it is due, assigning meaningless tasks, removing responsibility or setting the person up for failure).

Certainly the costs of workplace violence and harassment can be profound for victims. Bill 168 is a welcome step in the right direction.

......

Tort Remedies for Harassment

The Ontario Superior Court's December 2009 ruling in Piresferreira v. Ayotte and Bell Mobility Inc., [2008] O.J. No. 518, provides a dramatic example of the civil remedies available in Ontario in extreme cases of harassment and bullying.

In that case, an employee was abused by a manager who frequently yelled and swore at her, and berated her in front of other employees. The culminating incident occurred when the manager became frustrated with the employee and pushed her aside, and the employee (who was 60 years old) lost her balance and fell back against a filing cabinet. Soon thereafter, the employee was presented with a performance improvement plan prepared by the manager. The employee was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and left her employment permanently.

The court awarded the employee $45,000 in damages for assault, battery, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, mental suffering and psycho-traumatic disability; $450,832 for loss of past and future income; and $5,123 for special damages.

Garry has also addressed this ruling in a previous post.

- Stephen Ellis, Toronto

Stephen Ellis is a Toronto lawyer practicing in association with Wise Law Office, Toronto

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Minnesota Chiropractor Attacks Canadian Health Care

2009-11-18T15:17:00.007-05:00

Meet Larry the Plumber.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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The "Cell Phone Energy Diet"

2009-11-17T04:40:00.004-05:00

I mucho like this:

About the size of your average flashlight, the PEG takes the kinetic energy humans develop through physical activity and uses it to recharge small, electronic devices such as your phone, camera, or iPod.
...Place it in your bag or on your hip, attach it to the device that you need to charge using a standard USB cord, and the PEG does the rest. With each step you take, magnets inside the generator bounce back and forth off the springs inside it, creating electricity.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Parental Access Visits by Skype?

2009-11-16T14:12:00.011-05:00

Access visitation with far-away children via Skpe - is it good enough, or not?

National Post reports on conflicting decisions in child mobility applications by Canada's family courts on yet another, new issue of the digital age:

Daily contact by video conference over the Internet is not sufficient access between a father and his children, a judge in British Columbia has ruled in turning down a mother's request to move to Australia.

The decision issued by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Hope Hyslop last week is the latest in an increasing number of family law disputes where one of the parents has proposed using online software such as Skype when seeking to move with their children a great distance from their former spouse. In at least four other cases in the past year, judges in B.C., Alberta and Ontario have cited Skype as one of the reasons that a parent was permitted to separate a child from the other parent.
"Electronic communication is not as desirable as in-person access, but it does allow for the child to keep in touch with her dad every day if she so wishes," said B.C. Supreme Court Justice Deborah Satanove in a recent decision.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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The Future of Wallace Damages in Ontario Employment Law

2009-11-16T12:19:00.014-05:00

Law Times has a good analysis today on the future of Wallace damages in Ontario wrongful dismissal proceedings. These damages have typically been granted where an employer has acted in bad faith in the termination of employment.

With the Ontario Court of Appeal's June 25, 2009 ruling in Slepenkova v. Ivanov, it is now clear that the nearly-universal pronouncements by management lawyers as to the death of this head of damages after Honda and Keays may have been a bit premature.

In Slepenkova, the Ontario appellate court upheld a two-month notice extension for an employer's bad faith termination, even though no evidence was led at trial as to the specific damages the employee directly incurred as a result of the bad faith. This appeared to place the trial Judge's decision at odds with the new Wallace test set out in Honda.

One employers' counsel, quoted in the article, sums up management's employment law litigation equation as follows:

“Employers always have to ask themselves whether it’s worth going to trial in employment cases...And you can never tell what the judge is going to do because employment cases are always crapshoots where sympathetic judges have enough leeway to fit the facts around the law.

See the full Law Times article: Wallace Damages are not Dead

Prior to Honda, the Wallace damages claim had become a virtually "boilerplate" feature in employment law litigation, rearing itself in a very significant percentage of employees' wrongful dismissal claims.

In our view, Slepenkova simply demonstrates that the Honda decision merely moderated, rather than eliminated Wallace claims.

Wallace damages are now likely reserved for the out-of-the ordinary cases where an employer's excessive, inflammatory or detrimental actions at the time of termination cause observable distress or damage to an employee that is beyond the norm.

Perhaps they always were.

Wallace claims may no longer be "boilerplate," but they remain as a significant response where an employee has suffered demonstrated harm due to excessiveness or callousness at the time employment is actually being terminated.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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The Trial of KSM

2009-11-13T18:12:00.005-05:00

With the Obama administration's decision today to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other "enemy combatants" in public trials to be held at New York City, the torture debate is about to find its way into open court in America.

If I was Dick Cheney, I'd be very, very worried.

(Another brilliant chess move by Obama?)

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Update - November 16, 2009

A similar take at C&L, in response to Liz Cheney's stated objections on the Sunday talk show circuit to the New York criminal proceedings:

What she's worried about are her father's pesky war crimes coming to light.

- GJW

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Digital Alibi

2009-11-12T12:48:00.005-05:00

Introducing the Facebook defence:

Bradford and witnesses insisted he was innocent. They said he was at his father's Harlem apartment when the crime occurred.

..Prosecutors dropped the charges after Facebook verified the words had been typed from a computer at his father's building.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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"'How Can You Represent a Mass Murderer?"

2009-11-12T03:59:00.006-05:00

Colonel John Gallagher (Ret.), a civilian lawyer who represents Malik Nidal Hasan, the accused shooter in last week's brazen attack at Fort Hood Army Base in Texas, explains due process to CNN's Wolf Blitzer:

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Quotable

2009-11-11T05:36:00.004-05:00

Vanity Fair's James Wolcott:

"Don't let the soaring market fool you," cautioned [Neil] Cavuto at the start of his 6 pm show.

....To address this crisis of rising portfolio value, Cavuto introduced his first guest, that financial oracle, that investment wizard, that translucent orb that burns by night: John Bolton, Sheriff of Nottingham.

It takes more than a market rally to pull the wool over Bolton's mustache. He perceived the rise as a function of a falling dollar, which is a thumbs down on America's declining status and crumbling balance sheet. Following Bolton on Cavuto's show was fellow C-lister Dick Morris, who never gets anything right, so who cares what the thinks about anything?

See, what peeved Cavuto and Fox Biz was that Wall Street refused to follow the doctrinaire script. After the House narrowly passed health reform over the weekend, the market was supposed to go down on Monday as a damning verdict on the socialist overreach of the Obama administration. Here are Glenn Beck, Stewart Varney, that twerp on Fox Biz's "Happy Hour" who keeps crying fascist!, and the jingoistic Capitalist Pig, and the other hobgoblinizers spouting and shouting themselves hoarse that Obama (and Pelosi) are bad for business, profits, and individual investors, and in 2009 the markets have had the indecent gall to go up, daring to contradict them.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Video: The Great American Health Care "Debate"

2009-11-07T13:15:00.004-05:00

A taste of the "debate," now before the House:

(Via Digby)

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Celebrity Burglaries

2009-11-07T05:03:00.006-05:00

Soon, they will be lining up to secure the movie rights to this tawdry story.

And this one, too.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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The HST Tax on Access to Justice

2009-11-07T00:56:00.008-05:00

Legal services currently are exempt from Ontario's 8% provincial sales tax.

With the Province now poised to impose a whopping 13% Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) that is targeted to apply to legal fees, Slaw's Edward Prutschi considers the negative implications of this tax on access to justice in the Ontario, and eloquently asks why organizations representing the legal profession remain largely silent:

Starting in July 2010 when Ontario’s GST and PST are replaced by the new Harmonized Sales Tax, virtually everything, including legal bills, will be subject to the new 13% HST... To put it simply, legal bills are going up 8% across the board in every area of law purely to cover the tax consequences.

The implications of this tax grab are dire and far-reaching. Access to Justice is directly threatened by this substantial jump in the cost of legal services. Our courts are already struggling with the costs and burdens associated with an increasing number of self-represented litigants who have been driven to stand alone in court by the crushing burden of high legal fees and expensive court proceedings. The HST will have a direct negative impact on the capacity of individuals to have their cases heard in our Province’s courtrooms. The consequences for civil court cases, spousal support claims and child custody issues are serious indeed, but the devastating impact of this tax will be felt most acutely in my area of practice – criminal law.

...So, while lobbyists put the spit shine on their submissions to government as to why a new car, new home, or mutual fund, ought not to be subject to additional taxation, how is it that we lawyers appear to be entirely silent on a direct attack against the public’s ability to access the justice system in which we toil? Time is running out. The tax man cometh.

Ontario's governments of all stripes have always been good at talking the talk when it comes to access to justice. The HST tax, however, will add hundreds - or even thousands - of dollars to the costs of legal services borne by every Ontarian who is involved in a contested family law or civil litigation proceeding.

It is high time for the Ontario government to walk the access to justice walk.

The public cannot simply cannot afford any new tax on legal services. Period.

Legal services must be exempted from the HST. And as Mr. Prutschi suggests, our Law Society and Bar Associations need to get with that programme - fast.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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McGuinty’s Early Christmas Gift to Auto Insurance Companies

2009-11-06T11:47:00.006-05:00

After Finance Minister Dwight Duncan stood up in the Ontario Legislature last Monday and publicly wrung his hands at the mountain of motor vehicle accident claims in the province, he did what any clear thinking and sincere politician in his shoes would do to deal with rising auto insurance premiums – give more money to the insurance companies.

The proposed changes to the Province's automobile insurance regulations, due to come into effect next summer, would see the maximum allowable medical and rehabilitation coverage drop from $100,000 (in non-catastrophic cases) to $50,000.

The changes would also remove an injured person's right to obtain an assessment from their own doctor if they disagree with the findings of the insurance company's health provider.

But he didn’t announce that for the same money the average consumer would get less in accident benefits. He talked about “choice.” And everybody knows it’s good to have choices.

He added that drivers could still purchase $100,000 or even $1-million in non-catastrophic medical and rehabilitation benefits if they chose after the proposed changes come into effect. Motorists will also get options on the level of insurance coverage they want for attendant care, housekeeping and death and funeral expenses.

The recent proposals for auto insurance reform are simply the latest salvo in a decades-long erosion of the rights of motor vehicle accident victims.

In 1990 the government introduced legislation that only permitted compensation for pain and suffering in cases where it could be shown that injuries sustained had become “serious and permanent.” In 1996, the government of the day thought that insurance companies should be awarded a $15,000.00 deductible if pain and suffering claims met the “serious and permanent” threshold. That deductible was increased to $30,000.00 in 2003.

These unconscionable changes to the auto insurance landscape have given Ontario the reputation of being the toughest jurisdiction in North America for accident victims.

What is clear is that motor vehicle accident victims, their advocates and supporters have nowhere near the power or influence the insurance industry has. And as long as that imbalance remains, the insurers can always count on government to do their bidding.

- Stephen Ellis, Toronto

Stephen Ellis is a Toronto, Ontario lawyer

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Legally Tweeting - November 4, 2009 Edition

2009-11-04T23:08:00.008-05:00

We've been on a bit of a blogging hiatus over the last week or so (while other duties called), but managed to keep up, nonetheless, with our legal tweets in the interim.

Here, then, are highlights of our recently tweeted legal headlines:

Tribunal awards $35000 to fired pregnant woman - Canada NewsWire http://bit.ly/1dBp3O
Canada to extend Employment Insurance benefits to self-employed - http://tiny.cc/WiseLaw827
Ontario court denies insurer's bid to see claimant's Facebook account - Investment Executive http://bit.ly/2l01Cx
Lawyers Warn: Bosses Who 'Friend' Are Begging to Be Sued http://bit.ly/ui4wi
Abella's message: Stand up for justice - Calgary Herald http://bit.ly/2Vvisc
Employers advised to reinforce cellphone road rule - Toronto Star http://bit.ly/okkQU
Report: Racy sex tape ends Prejean’s lawsuit against beauty pageant http://bit.ly/3J37KP
Appeals Court Lawyer 'Traffics' in Term Papers http://bit.ly/CuxhC
Italian court convicts 23 Americans of kidnapping in CIA rendition case http://bit.ly/1swr9c
Giant Wal-Mart wage and hour class action settles http://bit.ly/1i0fZW
Maine Voters Repeal Law Allowing Gay Marriage http://bit.ly/2ISfMy
EU court bans crucifix in Italian schools - http://bit.ly/3CCLE0;

Italian government vows to fight EU Court ban on classroom crucifixes http://www.cnn.com/2009/WOR...
Google Wave Simplified: How it Basically Works (with video) http://tiny.cc/WiseLaw897
Twitter's new lists: What they mean for marketers and other attention "whores" - http://davetroy.com/?p=644
Two new judges, Hoffman and Tobin, sworn in - Windsor Star http://bit.ly/FK6y8
New chief justice for Alberta court http://bit.ly/8VTER
Justice who refused interracial marriage resigns http://bit.ly/3jiRbP
U.S. hospital fined for 5th wrong-site surgery since '07 http://bit.ly/3gsPwx
Competition Bureau wants changes in real estate rules http://bit.ly/2AnteZ
U.S. court denies Maher Arar's appeal http://bit.ly/3QCUna
UK Supreme Court case will test London’s reputation as the divorce capital of the world. http://tiny.cc/WiseLaw483
Stop behaving badly, boorish lawyers told - Toronto Star http://bit.ly/2VxNFM
Pennsylvania court overturns thousands of juvenile sentences in judge kickback scandal http://bit.ly/1C31CB
Cheney ‘cannot recall’ almost anything about Plame outing http://bit.ly/qc471
U.K.: “Council bans parents from play areas” http://bit.ly/1i12e3
Why Aren’t Bad Prosecutors Held Accountable? http://bit.ly/p2EAV
Church of Scientology guilty of fraud in France http://bit.ly/o4EHH
Rookie Dallas cop tickets woman for driving while not speaking English -- UPDATED http://bit.ly/3xFAxK
LawPundit's List of Twitter Addresses of Legal Blogs (Blawgs) http://tiny.cc/WiseLaw964
'Lawyer' is a witch: Police - Toronto Sun http://bit.ly/AqLJv

As always, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/wiselaw for up-to-the-minute legal news.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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

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Nothing Is Certain (Except Death and Facebook)

2009-10-28T01:07:00.002-04:00

Facebook announces a new approach for handling deceased users' pages:

"When someone leaves us, they don't leave our memories or our social network," Facebook director of security Max Kelly said in a blog post Monday.
"To reflect that reality, we created the idea of 'memorialized' profiles as a place where people can save and share their memories of those who've passed."
Profiles of dead people do not turn up in friend recommendations or general searches at Facebook, according to Kelly. Privacy settings on memorialized accounts only let confirmed friends or family members see them.

Also see: Facebook to launch memorial profiles of deceased users

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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

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The End of the MP3?

2009-10-28T01:03:00.000-04:00

I doubt it.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Baby You Can Drive My Car...

2009-10-28T00:52:00.004-04:00

... But please don't ever try to park it, again:

But if you think that was bad, try this: Car lands on couple asleep in bed

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Win!

2009-10-27T00:48:00.004-04:00

Leafs 6 - Ducks 3.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Ontario Drivers' Cell Phone Ban Now in Effect

2009-10-26T00:00:00.004-04:00

Hands-free cell phone use is now the law in Ontario.

As noted in our April 23, 2009 post on the new provincial law, which took effect today:

The Countering Distracted Driving and Promoting Green Transportation Act, 2009, Ontario's new law banning use of cell phones while driving... amends the Highway Traffic Act to provide:
Hand-held devices prohibited
Wireless communication devices
78.1 (1) No person shall drive a motor vehicle on a highway while holding or using a hand-held wireless communication device or other prescribed device that is capable of receiving or transmitting telephone communications, electronic data, mail or text messages.
Entertainment devices
(2) No person shall drive a motor vehicle on a highway while holding or using a hand-held electronic entertainment device or other prescribed device the primary use of which is unrelated to the safe operation of the motor vehicle.
Certain exceptions to this basic rule are also established:
(3) Despite subsections (1) and (2), a person may drive a motor vehicle on a highway while using a device described in those subsections in hands-free mode.
Exceptions
(4) Subsection (1) does not apply to,
(a) the driver of an ambulance, fire department vehicle or police department vehicle;
(b) any other prescribed person or class of persons;
(c) a person holding or using a device prescribed for the purpose of this subsection; or
(d) a person engaged in a prescribed activity or in prescribed conditions or circumstances.
Same
(5) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of the use of a device to contact ambulance, police or fire department emergency services.
Same
(6) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply if all of the following conditions are met:
1. The motor vehicle is off the roadway or is lawfully parked on the roadway.
2. The motor vehicle is not in motion.
3. The motor vehicle is not impeding traffic.

All is not lost - my recently-purchased Motorola T505 Bluetooth hands-free unit adds much value by doubling as an MP3 player, sending tunes (and phone conversations) from my Blackberry to my car stereo, via FM signal.

After a month's use, so far, so good.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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

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Food Fight

2009-10-25T13:15:00.012-04:00

Associated Press reports on yet another intractable battle that is rearing in the Middle East. This time it's a food fight, initiated in 2008 by a Lebanese economic organization, over the marketing of hummus as an Israeli delicacy:

The issue of food copyright was raised last year by the head of Lebanon's Association of Lebanese Industrialists, Fadi Abboud, when he announced plans to sue Israel to stop it from marketing hummus and other regional dishes as Israeli.
But to do that, Lebanon must formally register the product as Lebanese. The association is still in the process of collecting documents and proof supporting its claim for that purpose.
Lebanese industrialists cite, as an example, the lawsuit over feta cheese in which a European Union court ruled in 2002 the cheese must be made with Greek sheep and goats milk to bear the name feta. That ruling is only valid for products sold in the EU.
Abboud says that process took seven years and realizes Lebanon's fight with Israel is an uphill battle.

Also see: The Association of Lebanese Industrialists's Campaign to Protect OUR FOOD.

Wikipedia also tackles the thorny issue of hummus' origins:

According to Jana Gur, "While not a single Israeli will claim that this chickpea and tahini concoction is anything but Arabic, the status it has reached in Israel is unprecedented anywhere in the Middle East: In Lebanon or in Jordan, hummus is a simple morning fare or a part of a meze table. In Israel it is a religion. The best hummus restaurants, invariably owned by Arabs, are considered national treasures. Guides are dedicated to the best places to "mop up" hummus, books and essays discuss comparative virtues of fluffy Jerusalem hummus as opposed to chunky Galilean versions. ...and supermarket shelves burst with a variety of hummus products, sporting catchy names (most of them Arabic)".^[33] According to Gur, "The success of certain brands of Israeli hummus abroad may have been what brought about Abboud's [Fadi Abboud, the president of the Lebanese Industrialist's Association] anger", leading him to claim that Israel has been "stealing" their country's national dishes, like hummus, falafel,tabbouleh and bab ghanouj.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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

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Cudos to JD Supra

2009-10-24T19:00:00.011-04:00

JD Supra is rapidly emerging as the legal profession's deepest and most credible online repository for legal articles, precedents and documentation.

A recent experience with the site, however, reveals that JD Supra also offers the added benefit of a truly personal touch that demonstrates, quite unexpectedly, another manner in which the site appears to be a cut above its many social media competitors.

A few weeks ago, after uploading an initial draft of my paper, Lawyers in the Cloud - A Cautionary Tale, to the site, I noted a few, remaining formatting issues. After completing a further revision, I posted my final, updated version at JD Supra.

I was having difficulties deleting the earlier, superseded version. I didn't report the issue to the site, however.

Shortly thereafter, I received the email below from the site:

Dear Mr. Wise,

http://www.jdsupra.com/profile/wiselaw/

Just touching base with you quickly to be sure that this morning's document on your JD Supra profile is indeed the one you want live and in public view. We see that you tried to replace - and it looks like you have succeeded in getting the correct one up there, but want to be sure.

We've noticed a technical issue to do with your initial attempt to replace the original document (an issue overcome, it seems, by the fact that you then uploaded a second time).

Suffice to say: we just want to be sure that this is the document you want live on the site. Please let me know. If so, we will delete the other versions currently in limbo on JD Supra's servers. If it isn't the version you want live, we'll take care of things.

We like the doc and want to feature it in our network later, and so I want to be certain it is the correct one.

Please let me know.

Adrian Lurssen
@JDSupra

As someone who has at times waited literally weeks for any response at all from Facebook, Google and Technorati (among others) to my technical and account-related enquiries, I can't tell you how pleasant a surprise it was to encounter a site that actually has a real, human interface - and beyond that - is genuinely proactive in addressing its users' issues.

The email discussions following Mr. Lurssen's initial contact were just as pleasant and helpful. He was even good enough to point out to me that the Twitter bugs had already tweeted on the original.

Well done, JD Supra, and thank you, Adrian Lurssen.

Our article article on cloud computing, by the way, is now featured at JD Supra's Electronic Discovery Document Center.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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

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