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Collin May: Shame on lawyer associations for trying to silence criticism of courts

The Advocates’ Society has no place trying to muzzle NP columnist Jamie Sarkonak

It seems some of my colleagues in the legal profession just can’t help themselves. The Advocates’ Society, a voluntary association of Canadian litigators, has come out swinging against National Post journalist Jamie Sarkonak. This comes on the heels of a statement earlier this year by the Canadian Bar Association (CBA), yet another voluntary lawyers’ organization, which took Sarkonak to task for her coverage of the judiciary.

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Sarkonak’s transgression, according to both the CBA and now the Advocates’ Society, is that she not only criticized judicial decisions, but that she chastised the judges who made those decisions. Specifically, she tied their rulings from the bench to their past activism as lawyers. Sarkonak argued that the judges’ current penchant for racialized sentencing, consistent with past activism, and creating protected rights for drug dealing criminals, are deserving of public scrutiny.  

Collin May: Shame on lawyer associations for trying to silence criticism of courts Back to video

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