legal opinion needed

[William R]

I know this may not be the proper place to put this post, but since it deals with an mpa I thought it was the best location.
I have a friend who recently got a summons to go to court. Guess where ..... Oakville. Yes this is the place that opened and closed in the wink of an eye. It is a bylaw infraction for "soliciting a body rub in an unlicensed body rub parlour. Oakville by-law 2005-176, item 11-7." This states "no body rubber shall perform, offer or solicit body rubs .......unless the owner is duly licensed". At the end of the by-law it states "on conviction they are liable to a fine not exceeding $25,000.00 or a prison term or both." This lady is not the owner, but the owner did have a license and was present at the time I assume it was the wrong license. The crux of it is , my lady friend was just coming in to work at the time and only worked part time here. The door was locked and when she knocked, it was opened by one of the by-law officers. There were 2 by-law officers present at the time. At no time did she solicit anyone for a body rub. There were not any customers present either.
To me, a layman, this seems like an open and shut case in her favour. She has asked me to help her on this and I need to know if any of you legal eagles out there think I should go to court and represent her or is this better left in the hands of a lawyer. I have already requested disclosure. If you think it is better left up to a lawyer, then could you please recommend one to me who has had experience in this area.
Some may question why I am getting involved. We have become good friends only and she really is a good person who does not deserve this. She is raising a daughter and is not fluent enough with english to look after this matter.
I trust there are enough legal types around to offer an opinion.

 

[Standyourground]

I'd say get a lawyer, or at least consult with one for an opinion. Sorry, can't recommend a good one, maybe someone else can.
It's like watching a bad car wreck when you are in court watching someone defend themselves, or by a good intentioned friend without the legal background. Looking at the size of the fine, I'd say a lawyer should be a cheap investment.
You know more about it than me but she was entering a place where illegal activities were known to occur, they were of a nature where she is most likely not a customer. Plus, they may have video of her entering to work on previous shifts. They may even have evidence of her working, via undercover. The last 2 would be found at disclosure, but think of it this way....would you rebuild her engine if you were not a mechanic?
This is a serious charge, leave it to an expert...it won't be cheap, but it will be cheaper than $25,000 or jail time. Worst case, they can get the fine reduced, jail time is not very likely unless she has priors.

 

[TheOne]

Your friend should consult a lawyer - the Crown may be more willing to prosecute if she is self-represented.

She can call the Lawyer Referral Service at the Law Society to find a lawyer (www.lsuc.on.ca). A lawyer (Dan Gavirolvac (sp?) advertises on this site.

She may also qualify for Legal Aid, which should help reduce the cost. You have already helped in reducing some of the lawyer's fees by requesting disclosure on your own.

 

[Gumdrops &Lolipops]

I don't think you are allowed to represent her in court unless you are a lawyer.

 

[DennisH (No emotions)..]

As others have mentioned this is not a joke, but serious stuff. She needs a lawyer I think. I can recommend one if you like. See

Noel Gerry
50 Richmond Street, East
Suite 100,
Toronto, Ontario, M5C 1N7
416-972-1161 Business Phone
416-362-9954 Business Fax

Good luck!

 

[gars]

Actually, it is unlikely that she would qualify for legal aid. The legal aid plan only defends those who have a serious chance of going to jail if convicted. This is not one of those cases.

However, I too would recommend she get legal advice. PM if you need a referral.

 

[Jerico]

While I would highly discourage anyone from using a friend or representing themselves in court, this is not accurate. Non-lawyers can, and frequently do appear in provincial offences court (case in point, all those ex-copper types), or as in this case, bylaw court. They however, for the most part, are useless.

 

[cody g]

Seems to me she has two readily obvious defences (subject to receiving the disclosure and it having reports of undercovers):

1) They have no evidence of her soliciting a bodyrub

2) They are going to have a hard time establishing that she knew the place was not licensed if there was a false one on display.

 

[DLS]

Yes, you are correct. I had misread this as a criminal case.

 

[Charma]

I would highly recommend him as well.

Wait for the disclosure. If there is no evidence of her offering or giving a body rub then it is an open and shut case, in her favour. Generally in cases like this they try to get her to plead before disclosure. If she pleads not guilty and given that there is no evidence the crown usually drops the charge. The crown has to present evidence and it is not good enough just to say that she was an employee.

If she gave services to an undercover agent then definitely call Noel.

I have never heard of anyone ever being fined the maximum or sent to jail on a first time bylaw infraction.

 

[BleacHie]

Teddy Greenspan has a excellent record in cases where municipalities bully sex workers. Not sure if he still is practicing in this field but he is rather famous and has a high hourly fee