Life skills and career tips for Canada's lawyers in training
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Negrea's setting precedents Robson Hall student has big win in Portage la Prairie custody enforcement case BY MATT POWELL J ulia Negrea waited four months for the judge's decision. Waiting that long had, perhaps, dulled the excite- ment of potentially winning her fi rst court case, but as the decision was read, Negrea knew she had won. Her fi rst trial win had been a collection of new expe- riences: her fi rst cross-examination of a police offi cer, setting her fi rst precedent, and, of course, her fi rst courtroom vic- tory. Th e most rewarding, though, is the reality of getting justice for her client, who may not have been represented had a legal aid program not existed. Negrea is a third-year student at the University of Manitoba Robson Hall law school, who has devoted a signifi cant amount of time working at the Universi- ty Law Centre with Legal Aid Manitoba to provide legal assistance to those who cannot aff ord private representation. At 33, she has more real-world experience than an average law student may have, and is putting that experience to use. On Jan. 11, Negrea won her fi rst court case involving an obstruction of a police offi cer charge. Last summer, she travelled to Portage la Prairie, Man., to represent Annette Sanderson, who was charged with ob- struction aſt er she refused a police offi - cer entry to her home in a child-custody dispute. Th e offi cer arrived at 1:30 a.m. demanding Sanderson turn over her two grandchildren to authorities. Ne- grea was able to prove to the judge that the offi cer on duty had no right to enter the home, or demand Sanderson turn the children over. Negrea had only managed to contact Sanderson a few days before the trial. She was worried the case may be adjourned because of the lack of communication between herself and her client. Th e Crown decided to go forward with the case, and Negrea presented her argu- ment to the court, thinking the judge would stay the case. Th e judge didn't. Negrea won Sanderson's case, and set a new precedent, changing how police can enforce custody orders. According to Manitoba's Child Custody Enforce- ment Act, police offi cers may only en- force custody orders when a court grants them approval to do so. In Sanderson's case, there was no such approval. "Th ere was a great moment when I asked the of- fi cer to read through the custody order and tell the court whether there was any police enforcement clause," Negrea says. "Of course there wasn't." Th e University Law Centre where Ne- grea volunteers has second- and third- year students providing legal represen- tation to people who cannot aff ord their own lawyers. "Th e University Law Cen- tre is a critical part of the justice system in Winnipeg and the surrounding area. Judges regularly refer clients to us, and without the 50 to 70 students who vol- unteer every year, there would be a lot more people facing charges without representation," she says. "We intake about 10 to 20 clients a week, and do some civil work, but it only makes up for about 10 to 15 per cent of clients." As one of four students picked to volunteer full time at the centre aſt er