Lawyer Àned for swearing at Mountie

A Kelowna lawyer who was suspended and fined more than $10,000 for swearing at an RCMP officer in the Kelowna courthouse seven years ago has lost his fight against the penalty.

In March 2011, Martin Drew Johnson was acting as the defence lawyer for a client who was being tried in provincial court on an assault charge.

A police officer, named only as Const. B in the B.C. Court of Appeal decision, was a Crown witness in the case.

After the complainant completed her testimony, the trial adjourned for the afternoon break, B.C. Court of Appeal Justice S. David Frankel wrote in his decision, released earlier this year.

In the hallway outside the courtroom, Johnson asked the officer to accompany his client to his former home to pick up some of his belongings. The constable refused. “The situation between Const. B and Mr. Johnson became heated and volatile,” wrote Frankel.

When Johnson asked the constable if he could smell the marijuana in the house, the officer replied, “don’t for a minute think that I don’t know who you are or what you are about.”

Johnson then said “f___ you” to the constable, wrote Frankel.

“At this point, Mr. Johnson and Const. B came very close together, almost nose to nose,” he said. “Their chests or stomachs were touching.”

The constable accused Johnson of assaulting a police officer and proceeded to arrest him with the help of a courthouse sheriff.

Const. B sought to have Johnson charged with assault, but the Crown declined to approve charges.

A three-member panel unanimously found Johnson’s use of the F-word constituted professional misconduct.