April 19, 2013 – The Criminal Lawyers' Association (Ontario) "CLA" deplores the decision of the Law Society of Upper Canada in its decision released today against Joseph Peter Paul Groia.
The Law Society of Upper Canada today released its decision with respect to penalty in regards to its discipline proceedings involving Joseph Groia. The Law Society imposed a sanction a two-month suspension and costs of almost $250,000. The alleged misconduct occurred in Court and the Trial Judge himself never expressed any concern that the conduct of Mr. Groia was deserving of sanction.
The Ontario Criminal Lawyers' Association is extremely concerned about this decision of the Law Society and the precedent it may set," says CLA President, Norm Boxall. "We are most concerned about the potential chilling effect upon defence counsel who day in and day out perform their professional duty fearlessly advocating for theirclients".
The Association hopes this matter will be urgently reviewed. Mr Groia has filed an appeal and the Criminal Lawyers' Association will seek leave to intervene in any further proceedings.
The Criminal Lawyers' Association (CLA) is one of the largest specialty legal organizations in Canada, with more than 1,000 members. We are a voice for criminal justice and civil liberties in Canada. Our advice and perspective is sought by all levels of government and the judiciary on issues relating to legislation and the administration of criminal justice. We also assist our members in every aspect of the practice of criminal litigation. The Association is governed by an executive and board of directors elected by the membership. A more detaileddescription of our organization is located at http://www.criminallawyers.ca
For more information contact:
Norm Boxall Anthony Laycock
President, Criminal Lawyers' Association Executive Director
Tel: 416-204-1825 Direct: 613-236-0535 Tel: 416-214-9875
No comments:
Post a Comment