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Lawyers blame arrests on incompetence of guards
By Hempology | October 8, 2007
Toronto Star, ON
04 Oct 2007
Peter Small
LAWYER CLEARED OF SNEAKING POT INTO DON JAIL
A prominent Toronto lawyer has been cleared of charges that he smuggled marijuana to an inmate in the Don Jail.
Miles O’Reilly, 72, made reasonable inquiries to determine whether packages he handed to an inmate on Feb. 7, 2006, contained only tobacco, as he had been told, provincial court Justice Peter Wright ruled yesterday.
“I believe Mr. O’Reilly,” Wright said in Superior Court in Newmarket. “I believe he did not know the packages he brought to the Don Jail contained contraband.”
The gray-haired and bearded lawyer showed no reaction as he was cleared of possession and trafficking marijuana, possession of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking and carrying a concealed weapon.
The judge noted O’Reilly has a reputation for honesty.
He is one of several lawyers charged with smuggling drugs into the jail in recent years.
O’Reilly, who specializes in bankruptcy law, declined to comment.
But his lawyer, Samuel Goldstein, said sloppy Don Jail guards and slipshod police work led to his client being wrongly charged.
“The guards don’t check people properly, so to cover up their incompetence, they blame other people,” Goldstein told The Star.
Some lawyers say they are reluctant to meet clients in the jail for fear of being wrongly accused of smuggling in drugs.
Stuart McGetrick, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, denied there are particular concerns about the Don Jail.
He said the ministry’s top priority is the safety of inmates and staff.
Federal prosecutor Brian Puddington said he couldn’t comment on Goldstein’s criticisms.
“That wasn’t raised in the trial and that wasn’t raised in his honour’s decision.”
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