THE DEFAULT COURT APPEARANCE SHOULD BE REMOTELY – The old “normal” was not working except on the back of defence lawyers. “With the fool-hearted rush to return to “normal,” we must recognize that normal was just a cover for injustice and inequity in many cases.
THE AMALGAMATED TORONTO COURTHOUSE – All of the criminal courts in Scarborough, North York, Etobicoke, 311 Jarvis, College Park and Old City Hall will all be funneled into one central courthouse in downtown Toronto. It seems to be universally (except for the Government) panned as a bad idea.
MISLEADING SENSATIONALISM – People will take what serves their purposes from a judgment. Like a catchy headline evoking an emotional response at the expense of understanding the logic of laws that protects us all from abuses of power. The headline, a “Charter technicality” flies in the face of the findings of Justice Prutschi. “Even without any malice or bad faith on the part of police, the breach was more than a mere technical error, he continued. “The result is the complete denial of true right to counsel. This is a serious violation favouring exclusion of evidence.”
Study Finds Dead Bodies Keep Moving – This information could be crucial to future death and homicide investigations.
POLICE OFFICERS SOMETIMES LIE IN COURT – If you have been charged with a criminal offence in York Region in which Police Constable Jordan NESBITT was involved, you better talk to a lawyer.
HOW DO YOU DEFEND THE GUILTY?
SUNSET CLAUSES ON CRIMINAL RECORDS IS AN IDEA WORTHY OF CONSIDERATION- A presumption of rehabilitation.
A SMALL STEP BUT ONE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION – Volunteers Will No Longer Need to Pay for Criminal Record Checks in Ontario
NO DEFENCE COUNSEL NEED APPLY – IT’S ALL ABOUT MONEY.
Do you remember when we objected to Premier Doug Ford and Attorney General Doug Downey messing with the established procedure of selecting persons for judicial appointments? Well this is the result. The last 12 out of 13 appointments were selected from the government assistant crown attorneys (ACA) and prosecutors. No defence lawyers were selected. Why? Because it’s all about the money. If you look below you’ll see that appointing an ACA generates only about $20K in annual salary increase per appointment. Benefits are already being paid so that is not a new expense. The government can then hire a junior ACA to replace the appointment at $140K per annum, saving about $100K per annum instead of hiring a defence lawyer who will cost around $240K per annum. A false economy that leaves only one pathway to a judicial appointment, stacking the court with prosecutors. Below I have listed the last 13 appointments with their qualifications and salary increases. See for yourself.
November 2021
Justice Jennifer Lynne Myers was called to the bar in 2002. Since 2021, Justice Myers was an Assistant Crown Attorney with the Guns and Gangs Prosecution Unit at the Ministry of the Attorney General.
Justice Leonard Kim was called to the bar in 2005. He is Regional Counsel to the Provincial Drugs and Impaired Driving Team, advising the Director of Crown Operations$226K (2020) to $234K (2021) as Judge
Justice Jenny Restoule-Mallozzi was called to the bar in 2002. She specializes in Indigenous law, providing legal services and report writing to facilitate First Nations land management, law and policy development and dispute resolution.
December 2021
Justice Jennifer Marie Campitelli was called to the bar in 2007. She is Senior Crown counsel and a Team Leader with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC).
Justice Brock Jones was called to the bar in 2005. He was an assistant Crown attorney, prosecuting adult and youth criminal justice cases$210K (2020) to $227K (2021) as Judge
Justice Brian Gregory Puddington was called to the bar in 2002. He is a team leader and senior counsel of the Toronto team at Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC).
Justice Michael Waby is the legal director of the Ministry of the Attorney General’s Recovery Division. From $220K (2020) to $245K (2021) as Judge
Justice Joseph Callaghan was called to the bar in 1997. He joined the North York Crown’s Office where he has worked since 1999, first as an Assistant Crown Attorney and then as Deputy Crown Attorney. From $245K (2020) as ACA to $269K (2021) as Judge
Justice Robert Wright was called to the bar in 2005. Most recently, he was the Deputy Minister’s Office Lead and Special Counsel (Backlog and Recovery) with the Ministry of the Attorney General.From $220K (2020) to $229K (2021) as Judge April 2022
Justice Nathan Neuman Baker was called to the bar in 2007. He has led his law firm, Nathan Baker Law since 2017, conducting prosecutions for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada and defence of criminal matters in the Ontario and Superior Courts of Justice.
Justice Andrew Walter Brown was called to the bar in 1992. As an assistant Crown attorney, Justice Brown prosecuted various criminal offences in the Ontario and Superior Courts of Justice.$229K (2020) to ?
Justice Julie Y. Lefebvre in 2001 became an assistant Crown attorney and has prosecuted various cases before the Ontario and Superior Courts of Justice.$229K (2020) to ?
Justice Dana Peterson was called to the bar in 2002. She has been an assistant Crown attorney since 2002.$229K (2020) to ?