Posted in Toronto Sun Articles

By Michele Mandel, Toronto Sun

In the harshest terms, judges have called them liars and fabricators, and yet these Peel police officers continue on the job with no repercussions.

How can that be?

Soon after taking over the job, Peel Police Chief Jennifer Evans vowed that all allegations of misconduct against her police officers would now be treated seriously. “It is imperative that we maintain the public’s trust and confidence,” she said last year.

But those words ring hollow when more than a year later, little has been done.

Last April, the chief ordered a probe by her professional standards branch after the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the tossing of a case against an alleged pimp because the trial judge found the cops had concocted evidence and lied on the stand. “The police conduct in this case was so egregious that only a stay could serve society’s interest in preserving the integrity of the judicial system,” ruled Ontario’s highest court.

The trial judge was scathing in his criticism of the officers testifying against Courtney Salmon.

Salmon was charged in June 2010 after a 17-year-old accused him of forcing her to work as a prostitute. At the preliminary inquiry, Const. George Wang testified that he’d seized the girl’s fake ID from Salmon’s wallet and he had the notes and property tags to prove it. It was a damning claim – it would tie the accused pimp directly to the teen.

But it wasn’t true.

Just the day before his trial, defence lawyer Jennifer Penman learned the 17-year-old gave her fake ID to police hours before Salmon’s arrest. Notes from the detective sergeant at the station showed he was one of at least three officers who knew the fake licence and citizenship cards had been turned over to investigators, and not seized from Salmon at all.

“It is more likely than not that Constable Wang, together with one or more other police officers, concocted a scheme to make it appear that the false identification of the complainant was found in Mr. Salmon’s wallet,” Superior Court Justice Douglas Gray ruled in staying the charges.

“It would be difficult to conceive of conduct that would more distinctly shock the conscience of the community than the fabrication of evidence by the police.”

The chief promised an investigation. That was 14 months ago – and Wang and the others remain on the job. According to the Sunshine List, Wang made $117,000 last year.

Peel Police were asked repeatedly for an update on what is happening in the year-old internal affairs probe. After two days of emails, their spokesman said they do not have a response.

The lack of police repercussions doesn’t surprise lawyer Leora Shemesh. “Nothing happens out there. It’s unbelievable how much they get away with it.”

She was involved in a notorious case a few years ago where five Peel drug cops were accused by Superior Court Justice Deena Baltman of lying under oath as part of a cover-up following a 2009 drug sting in Mississauga.

Shemesh represented Tan-Hung Dinh, who avoided a prison sentence for drug trafficking after the judge found Peel officers beat him, searched his home illegally and then came to court and lied about it.

In her judgment, Baltman said the five officers “essentially colluded and then committed perjury, en masse. This must be addressed in a concrete way.”

Following the judge’s stinging rebuke, Peel’s internal affairs launched an investigation. In October, 2012, the chief announced that no criminal charges would be laid but the probe would continue to see if the officers violated the Police Services Act.

Incredibly, they were found to be in the clear once again. There would be no internal discipline – despite a Superior Court judge who blatantly accused them of perjury: “The police lied under oath in order to cover up the illegal search, and persisted in that lie when confronted with the most damning of evidence,” Baltman said. “Misbehaviour of this nature, particularly when committed by police officers, strikes at the heart of the administration of justice.”

Yet their bosses in Peel gave them a pass.

“Unless you have them on video, they will never be charged,” complains Shemesh. “It gives them a licence to do whatever they want.”

Read Mandel Wednesday through Saturday.

By Michele Mandel, Toronto Sun

TORONTO – What a shameful day for Toronto Police.

In a scathing judgment, a provincial court judge has slammed officers for “misconduct” and “excessive force” in the beating of Raymond Costain and stayed all seven charges against the young chef.

For the police, their on-board cameras would be their undoing.

In his exhaustive two-hour oral judgment, Justice Ford Clements said the police beating by Const. Christian Dobbs and then the “misguided and clumsy attempt to cover (it) up” left no other remedy but to show the court will not condone such unacceptable conduct.

“This was an unlawful extrajudicial punishment that would shock the public,” he said.

For Costain, the staying of the charges was a huge relief.

“It’s finally over,” said the 30-year-old father of two outside College Park. “There should be disciplinary action and I don’t think it should be just a slap on the wrist.”

Calling it a good day for justice, his lawyer also called for punitive ramifications for the officers involved.

“Just think if we didn’t have the videos,” said Leora Shemesh. “It’s his words against theirs and that’s the difficulty in these cases. You’re in trouble.”

Costain admitted he’d been drinking and had crashed his car on April 12, 2010. Const. Paul Roberts told the court Costain refused to exit his damaged vehicle when he was stopped at a light at Yonge and Gerrard Sts. and nearly struck him as he drove away.

Costain denied trying to hit Roberts – a contention the judge accepted. “He was careless but I’m not satisfied he intended to run into anybody,” Clements said.

But the call broadcast over the police radio warned a motorist had tried to run over an officer and that, the judge found, heightened the intensity of the response.

Costain admitted dumping his car to evade police, but knew the “jig was up” when he was spotted standing near the King Edward Hotel. He expected to be arrested. What he didn’t expect was to be pummelled by an angry cop bent on teaching him a lesson about endangering the life of a fellow officer.

The judge said he didn’t believe the many officers who testified that Costain was trying to resist arrest, especially because the on-board video told a different story. Instead, he accused them of fashioning their testimony to justify what the footage showed: Const. Christian Dobbs raining blows on the subdued man, at one point hitting him 10 times without stopping.

“They seem to be very much in control,” Clements noted.

The judge called the beating “unnecessary, unjustified and excessive” and especially “troubling” because Costain was already handcuffed and lying face down on the ground.

He accused the two arresting officers of contradictory stories, calling Const. Leslie Nyznik’s changing testimony about whether Costain was handcuffed at the time simply “incredulous.”

Dobbs testified that the resisting suspect shoved him into the cruiser, but Clements said the dashcam showed Costain was the one who was thrown against the police car. He called his testimony “unreliable and misleading.”

It was especially egregious when at least one officer got caught in a lie. Const. Jack Holt had testified that he rushed to the scene and held down Costain’s kicking legs as he tried to resist. But Holt had to be recalled to testify when his on-board video mysteriously surfaced in the middle of the trial last summer showing him just standing around while Costain was being beaten.

The judge labelled Holt’s testimony “not only unreliable” but an attempt to “misle the court.”

And then Clements called them out on their attempt to cover up what had happened, with officers at the scene simultaneously shutting off their cruiser cameras after one constable can be seen alerting them that their videos were still running and capturing the assault. He later told the court he was just concerned about conserving energy.

Not quite. Clements accused them of trying to defend the thin blue line by not only shutting off their cameras out of fear they were recording incriminating police misconduct, but then giving testimony inconsistent with the video evidence in a “contrived effort to justify the use of force in this case.”

Those are damning words. Now what are the police brass going to do about them?

By Sam Pazzano, Toronto Sun

TORONTO – A woman accused of drunk driving had her Charter rights violated when police forced her to remove her underwire bra, a Superior Court judge ruled.

Justice Michelle Fuerst quashed the impaired driving conviction against Sang Eun Lee, now 40, and ordered a new trial, ruling that the York Regional Police’s unwritten policy treating the undergarments as potential weapons is unreasonable.

Fuerst also said the trial judge, Justice Anne-Marie Hourigan, “erred by failing to consider the reasonableness of a York Regional Police policy that characterizes every underwire bra as a potential weapon.”

“She also didn’t consider the appropriateness of an unwritten police policy that leads to … female arrestees wearing underwire bras being automatically and without exception subjected to a form of stripe search,” wrote Fuerst.

A York sergeant admitted that the “wiring in an underwire bra is sewn into the bra itself, and that in order to remove it, a woman would have to unstitch the bra,” Fuerst wrote in a decision released Wednesday. “Wearing an underwire bra is not tantamount to carrying two wires loose in a pocket, where they are immediately accessible to the wearer.”

A strip search wasn’t necessary under the circumstances when police arrested Lee on Jan. 30, 2010, Fuerst said.

Hourigan convicted Lee, who had no previous convictions, in October 2011 and imposed the minimum fine of $1,000 and a one-year licence suspension.

“Strip searches are definitely necessary and there are cases where women will have to take off their bras,” said Lee’s defence lawyer, Leora Shemesh. “But this blanket policy is wrong and must be changed. It’s unconstitutional.”

Hourigan ruled that Const. Jennifer Martin had searched, but not strip-searched, Lee when they were in a private room.

The officer asked Lee to remove her underwire bra – not to bare her breasts – to inspect and store the bra. Martin thought Lee would remove the bra through her sleeve, court heard.

But Fuerst said Hourigan “failed to consider that the court’s definition of a strip search isn’t limited to removal of clothing to inspect a person’s private areas.”

The Supreme Court’s definition of a strip search is two-pronged: The removal or rearrangement of all a person’s clothing to permit inspection of the private areas or the undergarments, Fuerst said.

Although Lee was crying and upset, she made no threats to harm herself or others, Fuerst said. Lee wasn’t physically violent or physically aggressive to officers and there was no indication that she had any mental health problems.

Toronto lawyer offers search warrant insight

Monday, November 10th 2009 edition of The Toronto Sun, by Jenny Yuen

A Toronto Police canvass of 6,000 homes without a warrant in the case of missing teen Mariam Makhniashvili steps on the rights of residents and might be a waste of time, a civil liberties group says.

“It has clear problems for the civil rights and civil liberties of people who are affected by it,” said Robert Holmes, president of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association.

“It’s something that police, frankly, don’t need to do their job,” he said yesterday.
[Read the entire article on search warrant implications.]

Reputable Toronto Lawyer Provides Search Warrant Defense

It is not everyday someone answers the front door, only to be confronted by the police. Without providing a search warrant, police have convinced people to allow for unlawful entry. Consenting to a search of your property with or without a search warrant has the potential to result in criminal charges if any illegal activity is found.

This complex situation can be too much to handle without aid from a defense lawyer. I have worked on winning defense cases for clients who were victims of an unlawful search and understand the steps needed to achieve successful results. When faced with a criminal charge, approaching the matter very critically is essential. Arriving at favourable court results is obtainable with the help of a defense lawyer. Understanding your rights is a difficult task. To ensure you are taking all the correct measures, select a Toronto defense lawyer. Working as a defense lawyer in Toronto, I have experience in strategically utilizing powerful defense practices that win cases.

Law enforcement has the ability to enter a house with a documented search warrant, to gather evidence that may pertain to a criminal offense. Without a supporting search warrant and without the support of a defense lawyer, illegal police violations can slip through the cracks. I am here to ensure this will not happen to you.

If you have been criminally charged and require a Toronto defense lawyer, speak with me directly at (416) 944-8111 or reach me online to learn what your next steps should be.

Pot charges cleared by successful drug attorney

Tuesday, April 5, 2005 edition of The Toronto Sun, by Sam Pazzano

“[The judge] excluded all the evidence – including more than $400,000 worth of marijuana – seized in the search and tossed out the charges.

“The message is police can’t have shortcuts, violate people’s rights by conducting illegal searches,” said Kim’s lawyer, Leora Shemesh.” [Read the entire article on how a drug attorney cleared pot charges.]

Pot Charges Can Be Wiped Clean With The Aid Of A Drug Attorney.

When facing pot charges or any drug possession offense, a drug attorney by your side is crucial. Drug attorney’s are educated and equipped with the necessary skills required to attain the best results possible for anyone convicted of a drug related crime.

The outcome of many drug cases is determined by lawyer tactics in court and not solely based on a person’s charges. As an experienced drug attorney, I have extensive knowledge in the area of drug law. For this reason, favorable results for my clients have been achieved in numerous past cases. Pot charges ranging from simple possession to growing and manufacturing are tough to fight alone. Turning a potential drug conviction into a complete dismissal of your pot charges is possible with the help of my drug attorney services. The likelihood of generating similar results is greatly reduced without any form of aid.

Best practices are not always performed during the arrest and seizure of drugs. It is important to understand your rights as well as the rules and regulations of the court. As a drug attorney, I can prove and defend any wrongdoings occurred during the process of the arrest and use it to support your cause.

If you have recently been arrested on pot charges, let us put together a winning case. Contact me, online or call (416) 944-8111, if you require additional information.

Toronto drug lawyer defends marijuana possession charges

Wednesday, October 8, 2003 edition of The Toronto Sun, by Sam Pazzano

“It was legal to smoke yesterday and today it isn’t. But it was a decision that tried to make everyone happy,” Shemesh said. “Rules were relaxed so that licensed producers may make money for their work and before they couldn’t.” [Read the entire article on marijuana related charges.]

Marijuana Possession Charges Are No Small Matter.

Facing marijuana possession charges alone can be traumatic, time-consuming and even frightening. Drug possession charges can turn a life upside down in a matter of seconds and damage ones reputation if it is not taken seriously.

If faced with such a situation, it is strongly recommended to seek legal aid in combating charges laid against you. Though essential, looking for a reputable Toronto criminal defense lawyer can be both confusing and stressful. Therefore selecting the best possible Toronto drug lawyer is the first and most important step in battling drug charges. This is where I step in.

Understanding the law and knowing the steps needed in order to address marijuana possession charges is a crucial component in protecting your name. As a criminal defense lawyer based out of Toronto, I am experienced in defending people convicted of drug-related crimes and defendants who felt they have been unfairly treated. Every drug possession situation comes with different variables and obstacles. I will utilize my extensive knowledge on drug law and set forth the best tactics to achieve a successful case. Backed by a long list of winning cases, trust me to deliver a powerful defense and achieve successful results. Depending on individual circumstances, complete acquittal and termination of marijuana possession charges is obtainable with the support of an experienced Toronto drug lawyer such as myself.

If you require knowledgeable insight into your marijuana possession charges, contact me online, or call the law office in Toronto directly at (416) 944-8111.

Lawyers, clients on a high over ruling

January 10, 2003 edition of The Toronto Sun by Jason Tchir

“Lawyers and their clients who persuaded a judge to strike down the medicinal marijuana regulations as unconstitutional were high on yesterday’s “bold” landmark ruling…

“This is the strongest decision we have to date about the climate of the day with regard to decriminalization,” said lawyer Leora Shemesh. Shemesh said Lederman is saying “the Marijuana Medicinal Access Regulations are ineffective, and that’s probably the best signal we’ve received so far from a higher court about possibly decriminalizing the entire regime.” [Read the entire article to discover Toronto drug lawyers are paving the way for medical marijuana access.]

Criminal Ties To Medical Marijuana

Medical marijuana has the ability to manage or reduce severe pain resulting from epilepsy, arthritis, multiple sclerosis and a growing list of sicknesses plaguing Canadians. This benefit speaks volumes about the life altering capabilities and potential medical marijuana holds.

I have worked hand-in-hand with top Toronto drug lawyers and criminal defense lawyers, challenging the Canadian Government to take action with the case of Regina vs. Hitzig

Access to medical marijuana is only available to people who have obtained government approval. The Marijuana Medical Access Regulations program facilitates patient registrations and confirms whether or not a person requires this medical relief. Lacking support from Health Canada to provide medicinal users a strain powerful enough to treat more severe pains, has resulted in individuals and organizations taking action. Because of this, charges are being laid continually against those involved in the medical marijuana circle.

I am a Toronto criminal defense lawyer specializing in defending marijuana possession and other illicit drug charges. It is highly recommended to acquire the help of a drug lawyer to allow for the greatest chance at having a successful case.

If you live in the Toronto area and face drug related charges or wish to inquire further about medical marijuana access regulations in Canada, contact me online or call my office directly at (416) 944-8111.