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COSGROVE RESIGNS AFTER CJC RECOMMENDS HIS REMOVAL in Canadian history to be forced from the bench by Parliament. His resignation was announced three O days after the Canadian Judicial Council's March 31 recommendation to the federal Justice minister that he be removed from office. "We find that Justice Cosgrove has failed in the execution of the duties of his judicial office and that public confidence in his ability to discharge those duties in future has been irrevocably lost," wrote 22 judges from Canada's superior courts who finalized the matter. "We find that there is no alternative measure to removal that would be sufficient to restore public confidence in the judge in this case." In an interview with Law Times, Cosgrove said his reaction to the CJC's decision "was shock and disappointment. I was guardedly optimistic that the arguments that we placed before the judicial council, especially the fact that the independent counsel, who was 'the guy' on the file, said that a recommendation for removal wasn't warranted." He decided to resign the very next day. Cosgrove went on to say he didn't want to leave the decision on his removal to Parliament because he felt the parliamentary process for removal was ill-defined, due to it never having been used. He noted there were 20,000 pages of motions relating to his case and they would likely not be dealt with fairly in such an ill-defined process. The complaint against Cosgrove was made on April 22, 2004, by Ontario's then-attorney general Michael Bryant. That was about two months after the appeal period ended following the Ontario Court of Appeal's Dec. 4, 2003, decision to overturn a stay of proceedings in the Julia Elliott murder trial, which Cosgrove presided over from 1997 to 1999. The appeal court found the bulk of the over 150 Charter violations by Crowns and investigators cited in the ruling by Cosgrove were erroneous. ntario Superior Court Justice Paul Cosgrove resigned in early April, avoiding becoming the first judge The council's decision states: "In this case, it is our conclusion that the misconduct by Justice Cosgrove was so serious and so destructive of public confidence that no apology, no matter its sincerity, can restore public confidence in the judge's JOIN US FOR THE 11TH CANADIAN NATIONAL CONFERENCE June 18 - June 19, 2009 Metro Toronto Convention Centre Toronto, ON • Life after - the SCC's latest GAAR decision • Estate Freeze from Hell (The Sequel) The 2009 STEP Canada Conference will focus on estate and trust planning in tough times and bring you the latest practical updates. Join more than 400 professionals from across Canada, the U.S. and overseas at a packed two-day conference and social program. REGISTRATION is now available online at www.step.ca/2009 • Ethical dilemma: Who is your client in a family business with competing interests? • Insurance as Creditor Protection and Tax Relief • Estate Litigation • Offshore Asset Protection • Bankruptcy and Estate Planning • Using a Common Law Trust or a Fiducie • Cross-Border Update • CRA Roundtable The Honourable Mr. Donald Bowman Former Chief Justice of the Tax Court of Canada, now Counsel to the national tax group of Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP. John Haime - Mastering the Game: Translating lessons from the "links" to leadership, providing a command of emotional intelligence for today's tough business climate. future ability to impartially carry out his judicial duties in accordance with the Paul Cosgrove resigned from the Ontario Superior Court. STEP Canada is the Canadian branch of the leading international organization for trust and estate practitioners. There are almost 2,000 members across Canada and 14,000 around the world. The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners is a multi-disciplinary organization that includes lawyers, accountants, financial planners, insurance advisors and trust professionals. This fall, STEP Canada is launching its new diploma program. To join STEP Canada, go to: www.step.ca/joining/index.asp www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com M AY 2009 9 ep_CL_May_09.indd 1 4/7/09 9:05:31 AM Lipson