The Toronto Star has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.
Battle continues in court for man who got client acquitted after mining scandal.
The legal community is closely watching the latest round in Bre-X lawyer Joe Groia’s battle to defend himself against a controversial charge of “incivility,” which is raising fundamental questions of judicial independence and freedom of speech.
In Ontario Divisional Court on Thursday, Groia’s lawyer framed the case as an opportunity to preserve the right of all lawyers to vigorously defend their clients without fear of reprisal from an “overzealous” professional regulator.
“No lawyer wants to be the next Joe Groia,” lawyer Earl Cherniak told the panel of three judges. “Groia (has) defended his prosecution, not only for his own sake, but also in the public interest in the profession.”
The judicial review follows nearly five years of legal wrangling over charges of professional misconduct by the Law Society of Upper Canada, which took issue with Groia’s behaviour in the early stages of the insider-trading trial of former Bre-X geologist John Felderhof.
A mining company, Bre-X Minerals announced a promising find of gold in Indonesia in 1995, sending its stock price soaring. But the samples were found to be fraudulent — the largest mining fraud in Canadian history, driving the company into bankruptcy.
The hard-fought, high-profile case ended with Felderhof’s acquittal. But in defending his client against the Ontario Securities Commission, the law society alleged Groia had displayed “incivility” a “consistent pattern of rude, improper or disruptive conduct” — charges he has been fighting ever since.
A law society disciplinary panel found Groia guilty in 2012, and issued a two-month suspension and ordered him to pay nearly $250,000 in legal fees. Although an appeal panel cut down the suspension and the legal bill in 2013, the finding was upheld.
For the rest of this article, click here: http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2015/01/08/brex_lawyers_fight_draws_the_spotlight.html#