Two-Hour Hate

It was incredibly impressive to hear Chairman Dan's Telephone Tree of Hate marching back into action today, after an anaemic few weeks, dutifully turning Parker MacCarthy of the Canadian Bar Association into An Enemy of The People.

Bill Kelly, Bill Rowe, and the rest... good work!

Now, let's play Guess Which Great Lawyer Said This Stuff Back In 1999!

A plain-spoken Newfoundland judge has been reprimanded by the province's judicial council for comparing the conduct of a well-heeled defendant to that of the "damaged goods" he regularly sees in his courtroom.

But Judge John Rorke of the Newfoundland provincial court appears to have gained credibility among many Newfoundlanders by uttering comments the council deemed unacceptable. Even the defendant felt the judge's unvarnished words were on the mark, and several critics of the decision have leaped to the judge's defence.

Mr. Aylward's lawyer, D____ W_______, applauded the judge's decision to use blunt language, saying his client "appreciated" the directness and effort to speak his language.

"There's no doubt [Judge Rorke] made an impact on this young man. He related to him, and this guy hasn't been in trouble since."

And:

W_______ said he was surprised to learn a complaint had been made to the council and that Rorke appeared at an inquiry concerning remarks he made during the sentencing.

"I sat there and I saw nothing way out of line that he did. As an experienced lawyer, I see absolutely no reason why he should have gone before the judicial council," said W_______, who has practised law for almost 30 years.

He said while the public's view of the court is a concern, the emphasis should be on the person before the (judge), and the rehabilitation of the accused.

"And if he's able to save a soul by having to use words that might be a little bit beneath the dignity of the bench, if he accomplishes that rehabilitation, then I wish there were a lot more judges that would do it," W_______ said.