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REGIONAL WRAP-UP HiNse's wroNgful coNvictioN decisioN iNcludes 'totally New law' Ontario Inc. v. 1122077 Ontario Ltd. — and there are other precedents in this developing area of case law in Ontario. "It is neither inappropriate, nor does it derogate from the charitable purpose of volunteerism for counsel who have agreed to act pro bono to receive some reimbursement for their services from the losing party in the litigation," states Hinse, citing the Ontario court judg- ment, with the only stipulation being the existence of a pro bono agreement before any trial. Positive consequences of awarding such fees ensure both the non-pro bono and pro bono party are "not free to abuse the system without fear of the sanction of an award of costs and it promotes access to justice by enabling and encouraging more lawyers to work pro bono in deserving cases." Accordingly, Poulin's judgment orders the attorney general's office to pay $440,000 in legal fees to BLG. The law firm, as acknowledged in a footnote in her judgment, had already negotiated the payment of $800,000 in legal fees from the provincial government. The legal fees to be paid by Quebec are not included in the total award of $13.1 million. Hinse had sought BLG out after André Wery, associate chief justice of the Quebec Superior Court, had told him that it would not be possible for him to represent himself — as he did for the vast part of a lifetime of under- takings to clear his name. In another uncommon move, the Quebec judge ordered that all of the settlement money be paid to Hinse, who is now 73, even if the case is appealed. But as part of its appeal of the judg- ment, filed on May 5, the federal attor- ney general's office will seek to vary or quash the payment of the money in a motion to be heard by the appeal court on June 8. — KATHRYN LEGER kathryn.leger@videotron.ca Judges sHould Not Judge Judges complaint. Slansky filed his complaint against Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert T Thompson almost seven years ago following the retrial of Vytautas Baltrusaitis on a 1994 murder charge. Baltrusaitis was acquitted at the retrial, but Slansky still complained to the CJC that his client hadn't received a fair hearing. He alleged Thompson was abusive, rude, and bullying and that he had done his best to ensure a conviction. Thompson denied the allegations and filed a complaint against Slansky to the Law Society of Upper Canada about the lawyer's conduct in the trial, saying he had verged on finding Slansky in contempt for disruptive and disrespectful behaviour in court. Neither complaint resulted in misconduct findings. Slansky, meanwhile, has now launched an application for judicial review, alleging the CJC investigation was "anemic" and its whole process "of having judges judging judges' miscon- duct is unconstitutional" and biased. Rocco Galati, who represents Slansky in the judicial review application, says he'd like to see a more independent mechanism for dealing with complaints against judges. "I don't think judges should hear these complaints. . . . What's at stake here is public confidence in the administration of justice and the transparency in dealing with complaints against judges that appear to hold water." Slansky's complaint was closed in March 2006 after Manitoba Chief Justice Richard Scott concluded Thompson had "clearly kept an open mind about the guilt of the accused" and ensured both sides were able to advance their posi- tions in a fair and thorough manner. In a letter to Slanksy, CJC general counsel Norman Sabourin noted: "While the conduct of the judge may at times have fallen short of the ideal, Chief Justice Scott has concluded . . . that his conduct does not constitute judicial misconduct." That explanation wasn't good enough for Galati. "They found the judge's reactions were justified in reaction to Mr. Slansky. I say no improper reaction is ever justified in reaction to anyone. The judicial council has to review the actions of the judge, not the actions of the lawyer." An April decision by Federal Court Prothonotary Martha Milczynski ordered the CJC to turn over its report on Slansky's complaint against the objections of its lawyers who claimed it was subject to solicitor-client privilege and its release could hamper future investigations. Facts in the report by University of Toronto law professor Martin Friedland were key to Scott's finding. While Milczynski ruled that por- tions of the report had entered the realm of legal commentary, she said it could be released with those portions redacted. The CJC has appealed Milczynski's ruling and as of press time had not filed the redacted report with the court. Read the Federal Court ruling in at — MICHAEL MCKIERNAN michael.mckiernan@thomsonreuters.com www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com JUNE 2011 11 oronto criminal lawyer Paul Slansky, who clashed repeatedly with a judge during a murder trial, wants to change the way complaints against judges are dealt with after the Canadian Judicial Council rejected his C ontinued fr om pa g e 9 Slansk y Gener en/2011/2011f al) C v. decisions.f anada (A ct-cf.g tt c476/2011f orne y a/ c476.html. c.c