Down with weasley lawyers!

Good Day Readers:

Recall what Shakespeare said in Henry VI Part II by the aptly named Dick the Butcher, "The first think we do, lets kill all the lawyers" to which CyberSmokeBlog would add, "..... and .... on a lot of them too!" Hang around a courtroom long enough and you'll see a lot of weasley lawyers who can't kiss judicial ass fast enough to maximize billables and not risk a possible judgeship. Not so Rocco Galati. Rather doubt he's on Stephen Harper's Christmas card list, an appointment to the bench or an Order of Canada he's accomplishing a lot more operating on the fringe of the legal system rather than a complete captive of it.

Since 2008 he has launched four constitutional challenges (two successful 2 pending) of the way federal judges are appointed or in some cases how they have not been appointed. He's really calling into questing the crumbling infrastructure of Canada's judiciary. Like it's third world lousy courtroom audio systems it's in danger of falling into disrepair.

The man has cojones in spades!

Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk

Lawyer Rocco Galati targeting federal appeal court vacancies

Toronto lawyer known for helping to block Judge Marc Nadon's Supreme Court posting has a new target: Vacancies on the federal court of appeal

Donovan Vincent/News Reporter
Monday, November 10, 2014

The Toronto lawyer who launched the case that blocked Justice Marc Nadon’s appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada, is threatening a Constitutional challenge if Ottawa doesn’t fill several vacancies on the Federal Court of Appeal.

Rocco Galati sent an open letter Monday to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the Attorney General of Canada, and Governor General David Johnston, saying there are five vacancies on the appeal court that must be filled.

He points out that the law calls for a chief justice and 12 full-time judges to sit on the court. Currently there is the chief justice, seven full-time judges, and three supernumeraries serving part-time. Galati says the Federal Court Act calls for 12 full-timers, so the part-timers don’t count.

The shortfall is causing major headaches, Galati said in an interview Monday evening. Getting a case heard in the court used to take about three or four months, but can take up to eight or nine months now, he argues.

“The average person is waiting longer and longer for their appeals, and the court gets overburdened,’’ he said.

“They (the federal government) get to appoint, but don’t get to choose not to appoint a vacant seat. That’s unconstitutional. They can’t just consciously and deliberately hold seats vacant, because then that affects our rights to have our judiciary intact,’’ the lawyer added.

“As a citizen, and a lawyer who does the majority of his work in Federal Court, and its appellate division, this is unacceptable,’’ Galati says in his open letter.

The underlying constitutional right to a fair and independent judiciary is breached by the vacancies, he goes on to argue.

In addition, having five “missing judges’’ means regional representation on the court is “distorted,’’ he argues. Five of the seven full-time judges are from Quebec, which fulfills the statutory Quebec quota of five, but is problematic regarding representation for the rest of the country, Galati adds.

“These appointments have always been a matter for the executive and will continue to be,” said Clarissa Lamb, spokesperson for Justice Minister Peter MacKay. “The appointment process includes broad consultations with prominent members of the legal community. We will respect the confidentiality of the consultation process and will not comment on specific recommendations.”

The Federal Court of Appeal hears appeals from the judgments of the Federal Court and of the Tax Court of Canada. It also has authority over judicial reviews and appeals from federal tribunals, and bodies such as the National Energy Board and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

Galati is famed for launching a challenge last year to the federal government’s appointment of Justice Marc Nadon to fill a vacant Quebec seat on the Supreme Court of Canada.

Earlier this year the high court ruled that Harper-appointed Nadon isn’t eligible to sit on the Supreme Court because he serves on the Federal Court of Appeal and was not a Quebec bar association member.

The Supreme Court ruled the three high court seats set aside by law for Quebec are restricted to superior court trial or appellate level judges, or current members of the Quebec bar — not members of the Ottawa-based Federal Court, or Federal Court of Appeal.