Conviction tossed for no-show lawyer
Gina DaFonte had originally been convicted and fined $500 by a Halton region judge in 2014
A Toronto lawyer who ran her practice from her cellphone and apparently operated a wedding planning business on the side has escaped a contempt of court conviction for missing several of her client’s court dates.
Gina DaFonte, who is listed as Gina Hermanstyne in the Law Society of Upper Canada’s registry of lawyers, had originally been convicted and fined $500 by a Halton region judge in 2014 after she failed to show at four court appearances in two months.
But on Tuesday, the Ontario Court of Appeal substituted the conviction and fine with an absolute discharge — meaning she won’t have a criminal record — and instead referred her case to the Law Society for mentoring.
“It is in the long-term interests of the administration of justice that lawyers who do not appreciate the full extent of their obligations to the courts are afforded the opportunity for mentoring, correction and improvement,” wrote Justice David Brown on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel.
“The court’s referral of a lawyer to the Law Society for mentoring provides a practical means by which to achieve that result.”
DaFonte’s appeal lawyer did not return a request for comment. DaFonte herself could not be reached.
It would also appear that at one point DaFonte ran a wedding planning business, but it’s unclear if she’s still involved in that profession.
A biography on the website for Luxe and Lavish Events, registered to DaFonte’s law office, says: “Using her background in the legal field, Gina translates her analytical and detail-focused skills to plan sophisticated events and spectacular affairs.”
DaFonte ran afoul of Ontario Court Justice Lesley Baldwin in 2014 in the case of a client who was trying to have guilty pleas for assaulting and threatening her husband stricken.
Baldwin’s ruling convicting DaFonte illustrates the lengths the Crown, duty counsel, court staff and DaFonte’s own client went to get in touch with her about the court dates she was supposed to attend. This included phone calls that were not promptly returned, emails she said ended up in her junk folder and a letter, delivered by courier, that she said she never saw.
DaFonte had given illness as the reason for her absences, including a claim that she was so disoriented from taking over-the-counter flu medications that she did not know what day of the week it was. In the meantime, DaFonte’s client’s case dragged on for more than a year, and a family court case involving her two young children was delayed.
DaFonte apologized to the court after being cited for contempt, but Baldwin still convicted her.
“Her conduct went far beyond mere discourtesy or inconvenience,” Baldwin wrote in her 37-page decision.
“Her conduct has interfered with the court’s authority and its ability to administer justice.”
She went on to write that DaFonte’s conduct “demonstrates reckless indifference to her obligations to the court and her client.”
A conviction for criminal contempt of court is rare for an attorney, said criminal defence lawyer Daniel Brown, who was not involved in the case.
“One of the reasons is because most conduct that would justify a contempt hearing can also be dealt with using the discipline proceedings available by the Law Society,” he said.
“Her conduct has interfered with the court’s authority and its ability to administer justice.” LESLEY BALDWIN ONTARIO COURT JUSTICE