Howard’s Back!!
Today in For Better or For Worse was another lonely day. Just me and aprilp_katje again. The strip was a reference back to the lines from Elly’s November, 2006 monthly letter:
I end up getting involved in all sorts of things, like the community theatre fundraisers, book sales and things of that sort. I must say I'm very fond of our amateur theatre. The "Dreamweavers" are mostly of high school age, but they have tackled some very sophisticated stuff. Their last performance was "Cats" and I think every child in town had a part to play - somewhere!
April's keyboard player was in the orchestra and so was Annie's niece Karen, who plays the violin. I love being involved with the theatre any way I can!
The element missing was the gym workout, and I snarked mercilessly on that item via Mike Patterson. Using Constable Paul Wright, I snarked the Sunday colour strips out-of-synchedness with the other strips. The Jeremy Jones snarked on the lack of information given during the monthly letters about the actual Junior Theatre productions.
Pretty boring stuff. But tomorrow, Howard Bunt returns and Elizabeth testifies, or at least she THINKS she does. It gave me an opportunity to do something I have never done before, i.e. produce a prepared Blog entry via Howard Bunt.
I end up getting involved in all sorts of things, like the community theatre fundraisers, book sales and things of that sort. I must say I'm very fond of our amateur theatre. The "Dreamweavers" are mostly of high school age, but they have tackled some very sophisticated stuff. Their last performance was "Cats" and I think every child in town had a part to play - somewhere!
April's keyboard player was in the orchestra and so was Annie's niece Karen, who plays the violin. I love being involved with the theatre any way I can!
The element missing was the gym workout, and I snarked mercilessly on that item via Mike Patterson. Using Constable Paul Wright, I snarked the Sunday colour strips out-of-synchedness with the other strips. The Jeremy Jones snarked on the lack of information given during the monthly letters about the actual Junior Theatre productions.
Pretty boring stuff. But tomorrow, Howard Bunt returns and Elizabeth testifies, or at least she THINKS she does. It gave me an opportunity to do something I have never done before, i.e. produce a prepared Blog entry via Howard Bunt.
posted by howard at 11:46 PM
9 Comments:
. . . .And it's a very funny entry, Howtheduck--thanks for writing it! :)
I enjoyed your snark, Howard, particularly the part about Liz testifying through pictoral thought balloons. One tiny niggling point: it is correct for a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to be called "Your Honour". (It used to be "My Lord", but that was changed a few years ago.) This week's strip writer is using American spelling.
What struck me first -- or honestly, second after the spelling -- was the judge conducting the examination-in-chief himself. But why aren't the judge and defence counsel gowned? Where are the coat of arms and Canadian and Ontario flags which ought to be behind the judge's dias? And why isn't there a portrait of the Queen on the side wall? This is a very minimalist courthouse, I guess.
Should be a fun week! I'm waiting for the judge to bang a gavel and sentence Howard to death, both of which ought to be impossible in Ontario.
One tiny niggling point: it is correct for a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to be called "Your Honour". (It used to be "My Lord", but that was changed a few years ago.)
Thanks anonymous poster. I will use the correct "Your Honour" in future snark. I have a few questions, if you don't mind taking the time to answer them:
1. Is the gowning of the defence counsel required in all courts? In other words, are there some lower courts where the gown is not required?
2. Do witnesses in Canadian courts stand up throughout their testimony?
3. Isn't the judge supposed to wear some kind of sash or ribbon over his gown to indicate his judge status?
Hi Howard,
Loved your snark again today.
To answer your questions,
1. No. There's no gowning for counsel in the Ontario Court of Justice (the lowest level of criminal court.) But I'm assuming that we are not in the OCJ, given all of the weird "deposition" nonsense that went on before the trial. If there was a preliminary enquiry in the OCJ, the trial would be taking place in the SCJ, where gowns are required.
2. No. Witnesses only stand when they take their oath or affirmation when they first enter the witness box (aka "the box"). They are seated the rest of the time, except when the judge enters or exits the courtroom (when everyone in the courtroom must stand.)
3. Yes, but some of them don't always wear them. I'm not sure why, although I suspect it often has to do with wanting to blend in with counsel in the hallways in courthouses with less than optimum security. I've also occasionally seen ungowned judges in the OCJ, presumably for the same reason. I'll see if I can find you a link for the gowns.
Here you go:
http://www.ojen.ca/eng/resources/documents/SASH2.pdf
No idea why that wouldn't copy and paste correctly. I'll try again, but if it doesn't work, you need a .pdf at the end:
http://www.ojen.ca/eng/resources/documents/
SASH2.pdf
The bottom "link" is complete, although you will unfortunately have to type it out.
To clarify my earlier comment, I have occasionally seen unsashed judges in the SCJ, but not ungowned judges. Without the sash, the gowns look the same as counsel's gowns. In the OCJ, counsel are not required to gown, and I have occasionally seen ungowned judges there. But I have never, ever seen an ungowned, unsashed judge presiding over a trial in either court.
I've now looked over the ojen.ca site, and you might want to read the article on the differences between American and Canadian courtroom procedure. It's a bit dated -- in particular, I was gasping over the part about the flags -- but it's still a good reference. (And I take back what I said about the flags: they do exist, but on reflection and input from others the majority of courtrooms still don't have them.) There's also a good article on the coats of arm. (Avoid the Boyd Report -- it's now in the category of fiction.)
Music: Break It To Them Gently, Burton Cummings.
Thanks for all the input. I hope the strip shows the courtroom again, now my snark is armed with this good information.
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