Justice denied ... tick ... tock ... tick ... tock ... tick ...

Good Day Readers:

Reading the Toronto Star article raises the issue is the Canadian Judicial Council required to act in a timely manner?

Take the case of in-limbo Manitoba Associate Chief Justice Lori Douglas. Her accuser Alex Chapman went public early in September of last year. Here we sit almost one year later still without a public inquiry date.

Then we have the beyond feeble excuse of The Law Society of Manitoba attempting to explain away it's actions, or lack thereof, in a timely manner regarding Justice Douglas' lawyer husband Jack King - it had received no formal complaint. Imagine if the police used that in the face of recurring rumours a serious crime had been committed.

What about Queen's Bench Justice Robert Dewar. During late February of this year the CJC received multiple complaints about ill-advised, intemperate comments he made regarding a victim's attire while sentencing a convicted rapist. Ne'er a word yet.

Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk
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Hey judge, where's my ruling?

Tracy Tayler
Legal Affairs Reporter
Tuesday, August 9, 2011 Jacqueline Spicer can't hold back the tears, so furious and completely lost she is over having to wait more than two years so far for Justice Suzanne Goodman to issue a decision in her child support case.(Vince Talotta/Toronto Star)

Jacqueline Spicer is in the unenviable position of being stuck on a Toronto judge’s to-do list.

Her child support trial wrapped up more than two years ago, but Spicer has been waiting for Justice Susanne Goodman to rule on whether she is entitled to legal costs from her ex-husband.

The 29-month delay has led to a series of complications for Spicer, 56, a mother of two who runs a graphic design business.

It means she can’t turn to the province’s Family Responsibility Office for help enforcing Goodman’s child support ruling and it also means Spicer could lose her home.

Her lawyer, Joy Casey, contacted Goodman’s office in late July to delicately inquire about the ruling and was told it would be out in a few days.

It’s an awkward situation, Spicer admits.

“I've been reluctant to push (the judge) too hard in case she uses it as a vehicle to punish me for drawing attention to (the delay),” she said.

It’s not the first time Goodman has been slow with a decision.

Last week, the Ontario Court of Appeal ordered a new trial for a man accused of carrying a loaded weapon in his car because Goodman took 25 months to deliver her ruling, a delay that compromised the integrity of her reasons for judgment.

A random search of Goodman’s decisions shows she has issued plenty within a matter of days. But she also took more than two years to release her reasons for judgment in yet another case — one involving a passenger charged with slapping a TTC bus driver.

Goodman set aside Lakan Mohan’s conviction on Jan. 30, 2009 but did not release her reasons until March 17 of this year.

For litigants hoping to speed up a judge, the options are limited.

“It’s a really difficult judgment call,” said Grant Gold, a lawyer practising family law in Toronto. “As a lawyer, you want to be careful that you don’t sort of write the judge and say, ‘Oh, did you forget about us?’ Because you risk, at that point, angering the judge.”

“So typically, you don’t do anything until it gets to the point where it’s really ridiculous or there’s some urgency.”

The only other “practical” solution, said Gold, is to speak with the senior regional judge.

Casey did that.

The Courts of Justice Act says if a judge fails to deliver a judgment within six months or any other ruling within three months, a chief justice can grant a time extension or remove the judge from cases until it is written.

If it still doesn’t get done, the chief justice can report the judge to the judicial council and litigants can ask to have the case reheard, which is costly.

Waiting on the costs ruling has been particularly frustrating for Spicer because she spent almost as much time waiting for Goodman to issue her decision on child support.

The trial on that issue began in January 2007 and finished the next month. Spicer’s ex-husband, Jeffrey Harding, was unrepresented during the trial.

Goodman released her judgment November 21, 2008.

A formal court order is usually required before the enforcement powers of the Family Responsibility Office kick in.

Lawyers prepare such orders for the judge to sign, but Casey hasn’t done so because it would be incomplete without the costs ruling.

The decision on costs could affect how the couple’s house is divided, Casey said.

Harding declared bankruptcy and a trustee administering his affairs wants Spicer to pay her ex-husband for his interest in the home or move out so it can be sold.

Justice delayed

Have you been waiting more than 6 months for a court decision?

ttyler@thestar.ca