One of the two men accused of an al Qaeda-backed plan to derail a passenger train in Canada questioned the authority of Canadian law to judge him, telling a court on Wednesday the Criminal Code is imperfect and is not a holy book.

Canadian police escort suspect Chiheb Esseghaier from a plane to a truck after arriving in Markham, Ont. (Photo: CTV News)

Chiheb Esseghaier, a Tunisian-born PhD student, faces charges that include conspiracy to murder and working with a terrorist group.

He and another suspect allegedly hoped to derail a passenger train, perhaps at a bridge near the U.S.-Canada border, with possible heavy loss of life, said authorities.

In a brief hearing where he was ordered back into custody, Esseghaier, 30, said the allegations against him are based on laws that are unreliable because they are not the work of God.

“All of these conclusions was taken out based on [the] Criminal Code,” he told a Toronto court. “The Criminal Code is not [a] holy book.”

He added: “Only the creator is perfect.”

Esseghaier, who has a thick black beard and wore a blue-black windbreaker, declined to use an Arabic interpreter the court had made available. But he seemed to struggle at times to understand the proceedings.

Canadian authorities said they have linked the two to al Qaeda factions in Iran. They said, however that there is no indication the plans, which police described as the first known al Qaeda-backed plot on Canadian soil, were state-sponsored. Tehran has vehemently rejected any ties to the arrests.

Authorities said there is also no connection to the Boston Marathon bombing. But U.S. officials say investigators are trying to establish if the two suspects were part of a wider network with associates in the United States, especially in New York.

Esseghaier, along with Raed Jaser, 35, of Toronto, were arrested on Monday in separate raids after what police said was a joint Canada-U.S. investigation that started last year after a tip from a member of the Muslim community.

Jaser was remanded into custody on Tuesday. He denies the charges against him, said his lawyer John Norris, who has also represented Canadian Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr.

Jaser was born in the UAE and came to Canada with his parents as refugees 20 years ago, although he only recently obtained status as a permanent resident.

U.S. officials said the suspects were believed to have worked on a plan to blow up a trestle bridge on the Canadian side of the border as the Maple Leaf, Amtrak’s daily run between Toronto and New York, passed over it.

Canadian police said there had been no immediate threat to rail passengers or to the public.

Police had tracked Esseghaier for a year before making the arrests. U.S. sources close to the investigation said he made several trips to the United States, with one official saying “loose ends” were still being pursued in the United States.

Why the arrests were made on Monday was the source of speculation on Wednesday, with some reports saying officials felt a sense of urgency to act preventively after the Boston tragedy and others saying they decided to act after intelligence showed the plot was closer to being execution.

“I don’t get into operational matters,” Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said when asked to comment on the timing of the arrests.

Jaser’s lawyer Norris called the timing of the arrests “notable”, citing the events in Boston and anti-terror legislation being debated in Parliament.

The link to Iran has puzzled some experts, as there has been little evidence of attempts by the few al Qaeda figures there to attack the West. However, a U.S. government source said Iran is home to a little-known network of alleged al Qaeda fixers and “facilitators” based in the city of Zahedan, very close to Iran’s borders with both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Canada severed diplomatic ties with Iran last year over what it said was Iran’s support for terrorist groups, as well as its nuclear program and its hostility towards Israel.

Canada

Toronto immigration lawyer offering free services to dying mother in fight to have daughters made Canadian citizens, Toronto Star

Father of teen who killed herself after being bullied calls for new law against online harassment, Vancouver Sun

Lawyer for two media publications says judge erred on murder case publication ban, Chronicle Herald


United States

Public defender takes on complicated task in Boston bombing case, Reuters

Appeals court rules 1998 copyright act is not a defense for online music service, Reuters


International

Euro zone's top project to boost economy will not wait for EU law change: Eurogroup head, Reuters

Protest leader calls charges against him 'trumped up,' urges court to throw case out, Reuters

Two men charged in Canada with plotting an attack on a passenger train appeared in separate courts on Tuesday while Iran reacted angrily to police accusations that the plotters were backed by al Qaeda elements in Iran.

John Norris, the lawyer for terror suspect Raed Jaser, speaks to the following his client’s brief appearance in at Old City Hall court this morning. (Photo: Jon Blacker/Reuters)

Raed Jaser, 35, of Toronto and Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, of Montreal were arrested in separate raids and charged on Monday, sparking worries of a Canadian attack just one week after the Boston Marathon bombings killed three people and injured more than 200.

Jaser arrived at the procedural hearing in Toronto’s Old City Hall courthouse sporting a long black beard and black cap. Details of the hearing are covered by a publication ban.

Jaser, who denied any involvement, was detained and will return for a bail hearing at a later date, his lawyer, John Norris, told reporters.

“He denies the allegations and he will vigorously defend them,” Norris said outside the court, describing Jaser as being in a state of “shock and disbelief.”

He would not disclose Jaser’s nationality but said he has been a resident of Canada for 20 years.

Outside the court room, a middle-aged man, a woman in a cream-colored hijab and a younger man identified themselves as family, but would not give their names or answer questions.

Esseghaier, a Tunisian-born doctoral student at a Montreal-area university, appeared at a Montreal court, handcuffed and in shackles.

He told the judge that conclusions had been drawn from deeds and words “that are only appearances.”

“We can’t conclude. . .” he said before being cut off by Quebec judge Pierre Labelle, who said this appearance was only designed to fulfill a legal requirement that he appear in his province within 24 hours of his arrest.

Bearded and bespectacled, Esseghaier was remanded in custody until an arrest warrant is executed and endorsed in Quebec. Federal prosecutor Richard Roy said he expected this to happen Tuesday, allowing Esseghaier to be flown back to Toronto for a court appearance there.

Canadian authorities have linked the two to al Qaeda factions in Iran but they say there is no indication the attack plans, which police described as the first known al Qaeda-backed plot on Canadian soil, were state-sponsored.

Police said they had been investigating the two suspects since last fall after a tip from the Muslim community in Toronto.

U.S. officials said the attack would have targeted a rail line between New York and Toronto, a route that travels along the Hudson Valley into New York wine country and enters Canada near Niagara Falls.

Canadian police said only that the plot involved a passenger train route in the Toronto area.

Little is known about Jaser but a spokeswoman for the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique near Montreal confirmed to Reuters that Esseghaier was a doctoral student at the research institute.

Iran had some senior al Qaeda figures under a form of house arrest in the years following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but there has been little to no evidence to date of joint attempts to execute violence against the West.

However, a U.S. government source said Iran is home to a little-known network of alleged al Qaeda fixers and “facilitators” based in the city of Zahedan, very close to Iran’s borders with both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Iran reacted angrily to being tied to the arrests. Canada last year severed diplomatic ties over what it said was Iran’s support for terrorist groups, as well as its nuclear programmed and its hostility towards Israel.

“No shred of evidence regarding those who’ve been arrested and stand accused has been provided,” Iranian Foreign Minister spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said, according to the Mehr news agency.

Starbucks has named Gowling LaFleur Henderson LLP as the recipient of its International Excellence in Diversity Award for 2012 — the first Canadian firm to receive the award.

(l to r) Gowlings’ CEO Scott Jolliffe, Gowlings’ partner Susan Rosen, Michele Jenkins, director, managing corporate counsel of Starbucks Coffee Canada, Gowlings’ COO Sharon Mitchell and Gowlings’ managing partner Stephen Pike.

Presented by the coffee company’s law and corporate affairs department, the distinction recognizes Gowlings for its efforts to enhance diversity and promote inclusion — both within the firm and across the legal profession.

“In all categories, Gowlings consistently demonstrated a deep commitment to diversity,” said Lucy Lee Helm, Starbucks’ executive vice president, general counsel, and secretary in a statement. “In 2012, the firm’s percentage of women attorneys and partners was best in class among our international law firms. Their efforts are deeply impressive and demonstrate true leadership in enhancing diversity and creating critical opportunities for diverse legal professionals.”

Some of the categories Starbucks measured included:

• The number of diverse professionals from Gowlings who have worked on legal matters for Starbucks;
• The number of diverse professionals granted partnership status at Gowlings in recent years;
• The firm’s overall support for diversity initiatives and programs, both internally and externally;
• The existence of an organizational structure that reflects a strong commitment to diversity, including flexible work options and formal mentorship programs.

Gowlings represents Starbucks in numerous areas in all of its offices across Canada and in Moscow. Susan Rosen, the firm’s client team leader for Starbucks says the coffee giant requires Gowlings to engage a diverse roster of lawyers to work on its files.

“Starbucks recognizes that it takes a diverse team to effectively serve a diverse clientele, and they’re committed to upholding a culture where diversity is valued and respected. This extends not only to their own organization but to all of their external service providers worldwide, including law firms,” says Rosen.

Starbucks has conducted an annual diversity survey of its legal service providers around the world since 2009.

The results give Starbucks the ability to compare the diversity efforts of law firms. Previous award recipients include Morrison & Foerster LLP, Baker & McKenzie, and Littler Mendelson PC.

Sharon Mitchell, Gowlings’ chief operating officer says clients regularly ask about diversity within the firm’s ranks.

“Sometimes it’s in the context of an RFP; other times it’s just part of a client’s overall evaluation of our firm. We’re always happy to provide this information because we understand how critical diversity is to an organization’s success, and we feel the exact same way.”

Diversity is increasingly becoming a factor for companies when engaging external counsel, although Canadian firms well behind their American counterparts on this issue.

“Yes, we’re definitely seeing this more often. Increasingly, general counsel — especially in the U.S. — are asking us to provide some background into the diversity of our teams. Ultimately, they want law firms to reflect the diversity in their own organizations, and Gowlings is well positioned to do this,” says Mitchell.

Over the years, Gowlings has supported a range of diversity and social responsibility initiatives. It is a founding member of the Law Firm Diversity and Inclusion Network, and one of the original signatories to the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Justicia Project, aimed at retaining more women in legal private practice. The firm has since spearheaded the Justicia Project on behalf of the Law Society of Alberta and the Law Society of British Columbia.

Canada

Toronto lawyer denies 'nasty tweets' about Boston bombings from his Twitter account, Toronto Star

SCC Justice Morris Fish is retiring, leaving Harper to make next appointment, Calgary Herald

Engineer charged under health and safety laws in deadly Elliot Lake mall collapse, The National Post


United States

Antitrust law tested by Cablevision's suit against Viacom, Reuters

Court rules Medicare plan has 'no right' to sue man's survivors for medical expenses, Reuters


International

Egypt's president takes back plan to 'purge' judges, says he will respect the judiciary, Reuters

100 political prisoners get amnesty from Myanmar, Reuters

Supreme Court of Canada Justice Morris Fish will be leaving the court at the end of the summer.

Justice Morris Fish will officially leave the Supreme Court on Aug. 31.

Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin announced today that Fish wrote to Justice Minister Rob Nicholson to advise that he will retire from the country’s top court at the end of the spring session. Fish’s retirement will be effective Aug. 31, 2013. Under the Judges Act, a retiring justice can continue to participate in judgments with respect to cases heard prior to retiring for a period of six months.

“Justice Fish has served on the court with wisdom, and made enormous contributions to the court and to Canada,” McLachlin said in a statement this afternoon. “He is a wonderful colleague and friend who will be greatly missed.”

For his part, Fish said, “By the date of my planned retirement, I will have served my country as a justice of its highest courts for nearly a quarter century — including more than 10 years on the Supreme Court of Canada. I am grateful to have enjoyed this privilege and mindful of the honour and public trust that attach to the holding of judicial office in Canada.”

Ottawa lawyer and long-time Supreme Court agent Eugene Meehan commented on Fish's announcement: “In Canada’s national court he always stuck his juridical neck out for the little guy – Canada’s best defence judge has now ‘gone fishing.'"

Fish reaches the mandatory retirement age of 75 this fall, and the other Quebec SCC judge, Louis LeBel, has to retire next year. The Supreme Court Act required that three of the nine judges on the court come from Quebec.

Fish was appointed to the Supreme Court bench on Aug. 5, 2003, after serving over 14 years as a judge of the Quebec Court of Appeal and a distinguished career as an educator and criminal lawyer in Montreal. He was the first Quebec Anglophone appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada since Douglass Abbott in the 1950s and was the first Jewish Supreme since former chief justice Bora Laskin. He succeeded retired SCC justice Charles Gonthier.

Upon his appointment to the top court in 2003, then chief justice of the Quebec Court of Appeal Michel Robert noted to Law Times: “[Fish] has a passion for defending the rights of the accused, though he’s not always in favour of the accused’s rights. I think he’s got some equilibrium and balance.”

Update: 5:01 pm. Comments from Meehan.

The Criminal Lawyers’ Association is slamming a Law Society of Upper Canada hearing panel decision last week suspending securities lawyer Joe Groia for two months and leaving him on the hook for almost $250,000 in costs for his conduct during his defence of Bre-X Minerals Ltd. geologist John Felderhof.

Joe Groia is appealing the LSUC’s decision to suspend him and levy $250,000 in costs.

“The Ontario Criminal Lawyers’ Association is extremely concerned about this decision of the law society and the precedent it may set,” says CLA president Norm Boxall. “We are most concerned about the potential chilling effect upon defence counsel who day in and day out perform their professional duty fearlessly advocating for their clients.”

The CLA, noting Groia has appealed the decision, says it will seek to intervene in any further proceedings.

The comments follow Thursday’s decision on penalty and costs against Groia after a panel found him guilty of misconduct last year. In harsh language, the panel found Groia’s conduct in criticizing the prosecution during Felderhof’s trial “negatively impacted the administration of justice” and that he had demonstrated a “deliberate and consistent pattern of disruptive behaviour.”

“Mr. Groia cannot be said to have demonstrated any contrition or insight into his behaviour,” wrote Bencher Susan McGrath on behalf of the three-member panel. “Indeed his position in these proceedings represented an outright attack, both on the importance of civility and the legitimacy of the law society’s regulation of uncivil conduct.”

In its reasons, the panel considered the need to provide general deterrence to the profession.

“If the law society implicitly condones the unacceptable conduct of Mr. Groia in Phase 1 of the Felderhof trial, by failing to impose a penalty, it could have an even more significant consequence on general deterrence,” wrote McGrath. “The penalty imposed must clearly indicate that such conduct will not be tolerated and that the consequences can be severe.”

The panel also looked at the appropriate range of penalty in light of previous cases involving incivility. In one such case involving Shale Steven Wagman, there were three incidents towards a mediator and a senior claims manager that resulted in 15-day suspension. But in that case, McGrath noted, there were extenuating circumstances as well as an apology.

“There are no apologies or extenuating circumstances, in this case,” she wrote.

“In the present case, rather than a thoughtful and comprehensive argument, we have found that Mr. Groia engaged in persistent unsubstantiated allegations of prosecutorial misconduct and communicated with the prosecution in a manner that was intended to be provocative and in fact was in effect offensive and inconsistent with the proper tone of professional communication,” she added.

Groia’s case has sparked an intense debate among the bar about the limits lawyers can go to in defending their clients. Groia himself has emphasized the need to vigorously defend his client and argued the law society matter would send a chill to lawyers when it comes to how they handle their cases. The panel, in fact, took Groia’s “repeated statements” during the case, including his comments on civility, into account in determining the penalty.

“These constitute the very unusual circumstances where his attitude towards his misconduct demonstrates a substantial likelihood of future misconduct,” wrote McGrath.

“In this case, the lack of remorse constitutes an aggravating factor.”

The Supreme Court of Canada will hear six appeals this week including a notorious sex assault case from Nova Scotia involving businessman and hockey executive Ernest MacIntosh.

(Photo: Reuters)

April 22 — Nova Scotia — R. v. MacIntosh

Criminal law: Many complaints of indecent assault and gross indecency in the 1970s were made against Ernest MacIntosh from 1995 to 2001. MacIntosh moved to India in 1994 and the Crown sought to have him extradited, which India agreed to. MacIntosh applied for a stay of the proceedings, claiming his Charter right to be tried within a reasonable time had been violated. The motion was dismissed. Tried before a judge alone, MacIntosh was convicted of some of the charges. On appeal to the Court of Appeal, his convictions were quashed and the proceedings were stayed. There is a publication ban in the case.

By noon today, the Supreme Court had already dismissed the case. Oral judgment should be out within 48 hours.

Read the N.S. Court of Appeal’s decision.

Other related news articles:
MacIntosh case heading back to court, The Chronicle Herald
MacIntosh sex-abuse convictions overturned, CBC News

April 23 — Ontario — Hay v. R.

Criminal law: One man was killed and another injured after two gunmen opened fire in a Toronto nightclub. Leighton Hay was accused as one of the shooters based on an eyewitness’ identification of him and circumstantial evidence.

Read the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision.

Other related news articles:
Supreme Court allows appeal of conviction in 2002 Toronto murder, Toronto Star
Defence, prosecution split on need for forensic hair testing, The Globe and Mail

April 24 — Quebec — Vivendi Canada Inc. v. Dell’Aniello

Class actions: Michel Dell’Aniello is a former employee of Seagram Co. Ltd. and vice president of a Seagram subsidiary. In 2000, Vivendi acquired Seagram. The dispute revolves around changes Vivendi made to the health insurance plan’s benefits for all retirees and their spouses.

Read the Quebec Court of Appeal’s decision.

Other related news articles:
La Cour autorise le recours collectif d’un Longueuillois, TVA Nouvelles
Class Actions: The Court says no to retirees, Lavery de Billy

April 25 — Newfoundland & Labrador — R. v. G.M.

Criminal law: G.M. was convicted of incest and sexual assaulting his daughter. He appealed on the basis that his lawyer failed to provide him with effective assistance. He submitted eight affidavits proffering fresh evidence. The majority of the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and ordered a new trial because the lawyer’s decisions and omissions undermined the reliability of the judge’s conviction, causing a miscarriage of justice. There is a publication ban in the case.

Read the Newfoundland & Labrador Court of Appeal’s decision.

April 26 — Alberta — Pappas v. R.

Criminal law: Bill Pappas was convicted of second-degree murder. During a police interrogation, he confessed to shooting the victim. At trial, the Crown used Pappas’ post-offence conduct to argue against the defence. Pappas objected and the judge told the jury that the post-offence conduct wasn’t relevant to the issues it had to decide. Pappas appealed his conviction but it was dismissed by the majority of the Court of Appeal.

Read the Alberta Court of Appeal’s decision.

Other related news articles:
Killer Bill Pappas gets 18 years, Calgary Sun

April 26 — Alberta — Cairney v. R.

Criminal law: After an altercation, Michael Cairney shot and killed his longtime friend Stephan Ferguson, who was the common law spouse of Cairney’s cousin. The defence of provocation was left with the jury. Cairney was acquitted of second-degree murder and convicted of manslaughter. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and ordered a new trial.

Read the Alberta Court of Appeal’s decision.

Other related news articles:
Nine years for shotgun slaying, Edmonton Sun

Update 12:24 pm: SCC decision in MacIntosh.

Canada

Twice convicted sex offender poised to be first Canadian convicted of child sex tourism, Toronto Star

Out of court settlement in groundbreaking case leaves sperm donor laws unclear, The National Post

Court rules Ottawa did not 'trample the rights' of would-be immigrants in clearing back log, Chronicle Herald


United States

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Immigration lawyer accused of visa fraud, arrested, Reuters


International

Nigerians cannot proceed with human rights complaint against Shell: court, Reuters

Lawyer says Kuwait opposition politician was granted bail in case accusing him of insulting current leader, Reuters

The Association of Community Legal Clinics of Ontario has announced the first ever review of legal clinics and developed a strategic plan for Ontario’s community legal clinic system.

Part of the ACLCO’s strategic plan is to bring legal clinics into community hubs like this one in Toronto’s Rexdale area.

“In addition to the natural level of evolution and changes that have happened over the last 40 years, we saw this as an opportunity to actually take a look at the future and come up with a plan for how to provide more services in a challenging fiscal environment,” says Lenny Abramowicz, executive director of ACLCO.

For lawyers, this means working more closely with their clients to address their systemic needs, not just their legal issues.

The plan outlines four key areas of change: increasing access to services, enhancing systemic educational work, strengthening community connections to legal clinics, and enhancing co-ordination on the administrative end.

“We wanted to find ways to maximize ways in which lawyers and non lawyers can provide legal services to the clients in a more effective way,” says Abramowicz. “You look around and you see funders in a variety of areas — health, education, social services — making decisions simply to take out an axe and cut services, or replace services with 1-800 numbers and web sites.

“There’s a place for those types of things but we believe that when it comes to legal services for low income people . . .  replacing representation by a lawyer with a pamphlet or five minutes of summary advice on a web site would be a disaster.”

So, the plan is, “by doing things more efficiently we can save money and reallocate it back into the services.”

To cut administrative costs and increase community ties, “some clinics are talking about co-locating, moving to a hub with other community agencies to share administrative back offices or rent so we can reallocate some of the resources from back office towards the service provision,” said Abramowicz.

For example, Toronto’s Rexdale Community Legal Services clinic has recently moved into the Rexdale Hub, “and there are a number of social service agencies that are located in this hub. The idea is that if we are located in a hub like that with other social services agents, regardless of who the person comes to, we will be able to work in a co-ordinated fashion so that the needs of the person are addressed.”

This will cause lawyers to play a more active role in the social work that goes on in marginalized communities.

“Our lawyers will be working in close collaboration with those other agencies — the food bank, the health center, the employment center — so they won’t be working in isolation. And that’s a new way for lawyers to work. To work not just as a lawyer but to work as part of a team,” Abramowicz tells Legal Feeds.

Demand for legal clinics has grown in specific areas, namely immigration and social assistance. Recent immigrants, according to Abramowicz, historically settled in downtown Toronto.

“Now you can go across the province and find large groups of recent immigrants, people who are dealing with the issues of getting started,” he says.

A similar shift can be seen in poverty demographics.

“Once upon a time you’d find the greatest concentration of poverty in downtown Toronto. Today any trip to the outlining regions of the GTA — Mississauga, Scarborough, to Vaughan — will show you that that has shifted and those communities also have deep pockets of low-income individuals.”

Because the demographics of issues facing legal clinics have become more widespread, lawyers and legal workers need more efficient ways to share information.

One part of the plan is the Knowledge Now Project, which involves using wikis and an intranet to share data among clinics.

“If one of us is doing a case about one issue, we can upload that information onto a wiki so that other lawyers across the province have access to the cases and legal work that’s been done so we’re not reinventing the wheel 77 times,” says Abramowicz.

Another step to increase efficiency and cut costs is to bundle similar cases that are being handled by clinics. Abramowicz explains that most of the people heard at certain tribunals for issues like immigration and social assistance, are represented almost entirely by legal clinics.

“If there are a large number of cases in one area, dealing with one issue, we would work with the social justice cluster to ensure that perhaps those cases are bundled together and heard together rather than have 150 different cases across the province. We would work with them to bring a couple cases forward that would be able to deal with that issue,” he said.

There will also be more expectations for lawyers to establish community connections.

“Even though clinics already do this, what we are doing is moving towards clinics becoming even more firmly entrenched in their communities,” said Abramowicz.