July 2018

The case of an Ontario Justice of the Peace facing discipline for speaking out about a dysfunctional court system is very troubling for the integrity of the justice system. However, it is not so for the reasons one may initially think.

Complaints have been filed against Julie Lauzon, a Justice of the Peace sitting in Ottawa. The complaints were initiated after Lauzon published a scathing editorial in the National Post, criticizing what she called a “broken” bail system in the Ontario courts. In Ontario, justices of the peace preside over bail hearings. They also, as in British Columbia, perform other judicial functions such as reviewing applications for search warrants.

The basis of the complaints was a concern that Ms. Lauzon’s article brought the administration of justice into disrepute, by publicly denigrating the reputation of Crown counsel and thereby also raised a reasonable apprehension of bias against the Crown. The complaints allege that Ms. Lauzon’s article harmed the justice system.

I call foul.

In honour of the 4th of July, I decided to make this week’s edition of Weird and Wacky Wednesdays focus on weird and wacky legal cases that are distinctly American. From the Flintstones Vitamins of the rave scene, to the multi-million dollar legal award for “mental anguish” after a botched music festival, to a man who loved his girlfriend just a little too much, this week is a roundup of crazy legal cases that will make you shake your head and say “Only in America.”