Defence lawyer broke society’s rules of conduct
Letter criticizing judge’s appointment ‘contemptuous’: disciplinary committee
An Edmonton lawyer who wrote a letter criticizing the appointment of a judge has been found guilty of breaching professional conduct rules by the Law Society of Alberta.
Defence attorney Naeem Rauf was found to have broken four rules by making statements in a letter that a disciplinary committee found were “contemptuous and intended to ridicule.”
According to an agreed statement of facts entered during a hearing held over several days in late 2017 and early 2018, Rauf wrote a letter to the editor of the Edmonton Journal in September 2016 that criticized the appointment of Justice Avril Inglis to the Court of Queen’s Bench. The Journal did not publish the letter.
Rauf also gave copies of the letter to other lawyers, members of the public and left some on a table in the Edmonton Law Courts cafeteria.
In October 2016, Court of Queen’s Bench Associate Chief Justice John Rooke complained to the law society about the contents of Rauf ’s letter.
During the disciplinary hearing, Rauf argued his “severe criticism” of the appointment was fair and that lawyers have a right to criticize judges.
Counsel for the law society argued that while that right exists, the “language, tone and content” of the letter is problematic. The society argued the letter was offensive and could undermine public trust in the justice system.
Rauf told the hearing that sanctioning his conduct would have a “chilling effect” on free speech.
The committee overseeing the hearing sided with the law society lawyer and found Rauf guilty of conduct deserving sanction.
The decision said that the “sanctioning phase” of the process will now get underway.