Nova Scotia lawyer suspended following ugly courtroom fracas
CTV
A Nova Scotia lawyer who had to be restrained by deputy sheriffs during a court appearance earlier this year has lost his appeal of a suspension following the bizarre incident.
A Nova Scotia lawyer who had to be restrained by deputy sheriffs during a court appearance earlier this year has lost his appeal of a suspension following the bizarre incident.
In a written decision dated Nov. 26, Pictou County lawyer Donn Fraser's appeal of his suspension by the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society was dismissed by a three-member panel of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal.
Following the court's decision, the society's complaints investigation committee announced that Fraser, who has practised law as a member of the society for 20 years, had been suspended until further notice.
In its decision, the appeal court highlighted an incident in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Pictou, N.S., on Feb. 1, describing an audio recording of what happened in the courtroom as "bedlam." The court appearance was part of an ongoing legal dispute between Fraser and his former colleagues.
"In the courtroom, Mr. Fraser tossed water on his opponents, physically resisted the sheriff's direction to move away and threatened then fought the sheriffs," the panel wrote in its decision. "The audio playback is bedlam. Concerted force by four sheriffs should not be required for a lawyer to respect a court's decorum."
The decision also cites an email sent to the barristers' society by lawyer Joel Sellers, who said Fraser approached him and lawyer Mary Jane Saunders in the courtroom and poured water on them, soaking their clothes. Sellers said it then took four deputy sheriffs to take Fraser to the ground before bringing him under control using handcuffs and shackles.
The judges noted that Fraser characterized the water-throwing incident as an isolated "lapse of judgment," adding that he said little about the confrontation in his appeal.
