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Judging judges the Is it time that the system, where only other judges are involved in the inquiry and discipline proceedings against other judges, should change? By Michael McKiernan the nine-month trial and the preceding pretrial motions. In his complaint to the Canadian Judicial Council, Slansky accused the judge of being biased, rude, abusive, and bullying. Thompson denied the allegations, claiming that Slansky, "from time to time during the trial, was completely out of control," and in a competing complaint to the Law Society of Upper Canada, he accused the lawyer of insulting the court, attempting to get himself cited for contempt, and trying to provoke a mistrial. Both complaints were dismissed, but Slansky wasn't satisfied, and made an application at the Federal Court for judicial review of the CJC's decision, criticizing its "anemic" and "flawed" investigation. The application also seeks a declaration that the CJC's complaint mechanism is institutionally biased and unconstitutional because it involves judges judging the conduct of judges. The nominations of two new Supreme Court of Canada justices put the process for selecting feder- I 32 FEBRUA R Y 2012 www. CANADIAN Lawyermag.com ally appointed judges in the spotlight last year, but far less attention has been paid to the other end of the scale, when the time comes to remove a judge from office. In fact, that time comes extremely rarely; n almost two decades of practice, criminal lawyer Paul Slansky had never complained about a judge. But one day in July 2004, he resolved to change that. Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Thompson had just ordered him confined to the courthouse in Owen Sound, Ont., while jurors deliberated on the fate of his client, Vytautas Baltrusaitis, who was charged with murder. Toronto-based Slansky, who was staying at a hotel just a couple of minutes' walk from the courthouse, viewed the move as malicious and petty. "However this conduct was merely the straw that broke the camel's back," Slansky wrote in an affidavit following the trial he called "the most difficult of my career." Baltrusaitis was acquitted by the jury, but no thanks to Thompson, in Slansky's opinion. "It was more than obvious, in my professional view as counsel for the accused, that Justice Thompson, through his actions, demeanour, and rulings, was making it clear that he was doing his best to ensure a conviction," he wrote. Slansky and Thompson repeatedly clashed during tara hardy