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Difficulties can arise when joint tenants kill

PAGE 9

CRISTIN SCHMITZ OTTAWA

The head of Canada’s top legal organization is calling on Ottawa to appoint more women to the federal judiciary in light of data that shows such appointments have lagged markedly under the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Of the 236 judicial appoint-
ments in the four years up to
March 31, 2011, 65 were women,
according to statistics filed
recently by the federal govern-
ment with the Judicial Compen-
sation and Benefits Commission.

That 27.5-per-cent rate compares with 41 per cent of federal judicial appointments that went to women during the Liberals’ last year in office in 2005

“With more women than ever
in the profession, the judiciary
should more accurately represent
Canada’s—and the legal profes-
sion’s — gender balance and
diversity,” Canadian Bar Associa-
tion president Trinda Ernst said.
“Surely there are more women
who are qualified to be appointed
to the Bench.”
Ernst, of Waterbury, Newton
law firm in Kentville, N.S., urged
the federal government “to move
quickly to rectify this situation.”
In the past 12 months, the pat-
tern has continued, according to
information posted on the
Department of Justice website:
10 of the 37 appointments since
April 1, 2011, have been women.

“The figures show a disappointing trend regarding the appointment of women to the Bench,” Ernst said.

See Balance Page 3

COLLABORATIVE

THE LAWYERS WEEKLY

Vol. 22, No. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION

December 6, 2002

Sex trade
laws not
working:

Family law practice gaining ground

CRISTIN SCHMITZ OTTAWA

The Ontario Court of Appeal’s declaration that parts of Canada’s prostitution laws are unconstitutional could herald “a new legal era” for the regulation of sex work in Canada, some lawyers predict.

The agreement of a five-judge appeal panel, that aspects of the laws increase the risk of harm to the physical safety of persons engaged in the lawful activity of prostitution, in violation of the s. 7 Charter guarantee of security of the person, suggests that the antiquated prostitution law regime is at last going to be updated by the courts or Parliament, or both, said University of Ottawa law professor Carissima Mathen.

“What it shows is that you have now a significant number of judges who are recognizing serious problems in the way that our prostitution laws work,” she explained. “It could be the beginning of a new legal era with respect to the regulation… of sex work.”

CHRISTOPHER GULY

A man who bit off the lips of another in a drunken fight over a woman is liable for the intentional tort of battery and more than $55,000 in damages, according to a Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision.

Justice Kenneth Campbell, in
rejecting a claim of self-defence,
said Orlex Saul Fallios-Guthierrez
“intended to cause serious bodily
harm” and his actions “exceeded
the legal limits of any consent that
could have been provided by the
plaintiff.”
Six years ago, Fallios-Guth-
ierrez and David Ellis got into
shoving match outside a Toronto
area sports bar, stemming from
bad blood that developed between
them over competing interests in a
woman. Nevertheless, the two,
along with a third man later went
to Fallios-Guthierrez’s Toronto-
area apartment where they drank
some more and continued to argue.

The court concluded that Ellis told Fallios-Guthierrez that he didn’t like him or his family, and provoked a fight that was initially consensual.

After attacking Ellis, Fallios-

Toronto lawyer Michael Kealy represented a client who was awarded damages even though he provoked a fight.

PAUL LAWRENCE FOR THE LAWYERS WEEKLY

No biting in self-defence

See Provocation Page 27 See Bedford Page 4

court THE LAWYERS WEEKLY

THE LAWYERS WEEKLY

VOL. 22, NO. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION DECEMBER 6, 2002 VOL. 22, NO. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION DECEMBER 6, 2002

STB_LW_basebar_03_12v2_STG 3/15/12 4: 24 PM Page 1

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