Lawyer sorry for skipping court to do interviews
After an emotional apology for skipping a sentencing hearing to do interviews for CP24, lawyer and frequent media commentator Ari Goldkind avoided being cited for contempt of court by a Toronto judge on Monday morning.
Addressing Superior Court Justice Michael Dambrot, Goldkind admitted to making a “very poor decision” and said his failure to attend court was not just “inconvenient or disruptive but disrespectful to (the judge) personally and to the court as an institution.”
Goldkind’s lawyer Scott Hutchinson told the court that on June 7, Goldkind was “offered a professional opportunity from a media outlet” and attempted to reschedule the June 8 sentencing hearing. The Crown refused and on June 8, Goldkind did not attend the hearing’s scheduled start. He was supposed to have been representing Emanuel Lozada, who was convicted of manslaughter in the fatal stabbing of 19year-old Rameez Khalid in 2013.
But instead he was at a TV interview. A video posted to his Facebook page June 8 shows him doing an interview on CP24 in front of the courthouse about the trial of three Toronto police officers accused of sexual assault. The sentencing hearing was adjourned until June 19, when Goldkind explained his absence was due to a personal matter.
Justice Dambrot said he found Goldkind’s conduct particularly serious because of his “insensitivity to the family of the deceased and initial lack of candour.” However, he accepted Goldkind’s “unquestionably sincere apology” as well as his remedial efforts, and chose not to cite him for contempt.