During one forum nearly two decades ago, she slyly noted that, although a complainants sexual and medical histories may be technically inadmissible, in a trial before a judge alone, not a juryas Ghomeshis will bethere was no harm in arguing for their relevance anyway. Marie Henein (born 1966) [1] is a Canadian criminal defence lawyer. Jan 18, 2023 at 1:46 pm. Despite the obvious time and attention she has devoted to that artful presentation, she waves off questions about her designer wardrobe. Its the sort of question that criminal lawyers parry by rhyming off the bedrock principles of the justice system: the presumption of innocence until proven guilty and the right of every citizen, no matter how unsavoury, to the most forceful defence. Danielle Robitaille, a former dancer, helped choreograph every move in the cross examinations. By Sarah Boesveld With a two-year-old at home, she and Jennings had just bought a house in Forest Hill they could ill afford. The PIAP provides free, unpaid, experienced, duty counsel services to unrepresented and incarcerated appellants who have been denied Legal Aid funding on their criminal appeals to the Court of Appeal for Ontario. Today, Bryant calls Henein the best criminal lawyer in the country, pointing to the fact that she was willing to sacrifice a star turn in the courtroom. Chipping away at the changing stories of Weizs two main accusers, Henein managed to lead one into admitting that, whenever he lied, his voice rosea tell on which she proceeded to pounce. When she returned, there was no opening waiting at his firm. Thats one of her assets. I dont think its any different than Washington. I cannot bring you back to the day you sat at home and you were not charged., Read our full coverage of the Jian Ghomeshi trial, Related: She is associated with a law firm named Henein Hutchison LLP. When she argued the appeal of Marcia Dooley, convicted of murdering her seven-year-old stepson, Randal, in what the judge called Canadas worst case of child abuse, Henein says she felt it was an obligationone of those cases where youre really at your last kick at the can. Still, her kids occasionally pay the price for such a caseload, bridling against her hypervigilance. Magazine (Winter 2014) ". Ghomeshi was acquitted of all charges, on the basis that there was insufficient evidence to establish proof beyond a reasonable doubt.[16][17]. degree in the year 1991 and entered the bar in 1992. I dont think that the public sees exactly what is going on. There isnt. She is known for being the most popular sought-after defense lawyer in the country. It is pandering to just one segment of the population who will get you re-elected in your next term and ignores those who are not on Twitter; ignores those who are prepared to be engaged; ignores those who are thoughtful about a lot of issues. MARIE HENEIN: Well, its interesting you say that because recently Ive been told that Ive been disinvited this week. MARIE HENEIN: It says a lot about our post-secondary institutions that we think education means that you cannot have challenging thoughts, you cannot be presented with a view you disagree with, and you cannot be presented with information that is not the predominant view. When the Supreme Court ruled against them, she took it hard. [13][4] He was charged in four cases of sexual assault and one case of choking a woman. It was absolutely a gamble, Peck confirms from Vancouver. SEAN SPEER: If you think about the big issues facing the countryincluding demographic pressures, our place in the world, and climate changethe risk is that in the absence of such leadership, we succumb to inaction. "[11][12], In November 2014, former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi hired Henein to defend him. She was married four times and had four children. What really worries her is people like federal NDP leader and lawyer Thomas Mulcair hopping on this bandwagon with little regard for the evidence presented in the case. "The message is clearly that any right-thinking woman should understand her inherent, natural deficiencies and immediately set off on a lifelong journey of self-discovery and inevitable self-improvement, and probably forgo external things such as the world, life, and work." Marie Henein, Nothing But the Truth Justice was absolutely served in this case, she said, and justice does not mean getting the result that you want it means getting a fair trial. Were going to Nova Scotia! It was the first time it had dawned on her that as a lawyer she was, as she puts it, the face of the client., Four years later, Henein marched into Greenspans office with another bombshell: she was leaving to start her own practice. And then not allowing students to engage with people. As Anthony Moustacalis, president of the Criminal Lawyers Association, points out, Theres traditionally been a macho culture of wanting a tough guy to fight for you.. A firm believer in crafting a narrative for each defence, Henein threw herself into fleshing out a storyline that was at odds with the one unfolding in the media. The first trial of Ghomeshi began on February 1, 2016. Theres no question in my mind. Other witnesses statements contradict Brison on these key points, namely that the leaks did not impact the government decision to proceed with the Davie contract, and that the . Heneins passion for the law has also earned her the esteemand occasional indulgenceof the judiciary. But no, not her. And if thats your prime focus, how can you make hard decisions? Sign up for FREE and receiveThe Hubsweekly email newsletter. But we stood together. None of it deals with Law Reform Commissions. Henein represented Mark Norman during his trial for Breach of Trust, a charge that was eventually stayed on May 9, 2019. She gave them shit.. Henein was born in Cairo, Egypt, to Lebanese Maronite parents. Lawyer Peter Henein is a partner at Cassels Brock and is a part of the firm's Advocacy Group. She was in the highlight after being able to save Michael Bryant from going jail. Either her new evidence would convince Peck the case was unwinnable and he would drop the charges, or he would proceed to trial anyway, having seen her trump card. Talking about her education, Marie went to the St. Josephs Morrow Park Catholic Secondary School. So, for the Conservatives, it was mandatory minimums. That bias was best articulated in a 1988 lecture by Ottawa criminal lawyer Mike Edelson, which still makes feminists fume. Lisa Marie, 54, died of cardiac arrest on Jan. 12, just two and a half years after the tragic suicide of her son Benjamin at age 27. Its wrong to treat your citizens that way. She's smart and ruthless (awestruck admirers. Glen Jennings, the soft-spoken son of a United Church minister, was instantly smitten. Thanks, Marie, for this fascinating conversation, and congratulations on the book. At the CLAs first womens conference in Ottawa last spring, Henein doled out helpful hints to young lawyers on how to build their careers, but Jessyca Greenwood, a 31-year-old with her own Toronto firm, was puzzled that Henein never once mentioned the problem that confounded Greenwood daily: how to manage her fledgling practice while raising two toddlers. She smiles enigmatically at the question. Youre not getting patted on the head a lot here, she says. For your client, its his life., Of all her cases with Greenspan, the biggest media sensation was the 1998 trial of former Nova Scotia premier Gerald Regan, charged with 18 counts of sexual assault. After being acquitted, David named her as My Shark.. So, youre disinviting me because you dont like the job that I do in the justice system? Theyre disinviting me because they dont like my job. MARIE HENEIN: Thank you for speaking with me. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press. Until she hired Matthew Gourlay, all her associates had been female, and, without exception, they praise her as a mentor and hard-driving mother hen. I have never seen anybody with more naked confidence in a courtroom, says Martha McCarthy, the president of the Advocates Society, who recently called on Henein to assist with a complex case. MARIE HENEIN: Yes. Were a work in progress., That exodus infuriates Henein, but her response is characteristically contrarian. What intrigued her was that Greenspan too had been an outlier, a scrap dealers son from Niagara Falls, who stumped the country in a crusade against the death penalty with a showmans flair. You were either a hero if it worked, she says, or you were an idiot.. For me, it was standing up for people.. She was 15 when he took her to her first drag show. Then her private investigator discovered evidence on Facebook, including a photo, that showed, contrary to the womens assertions, they were so close they had even vacationed together. Im not a warm and fuzzy person, she acknowledges, but I have more than one gear.. Henein started working with Marc Rosenberg who was the partner of her earlier boss Edward Greenspan. St. Joseph Communications uses cookies for personalization, to customize its online advertisements, and for other purposes. [5], In 2008, Henein defended hockey agent David Frost, who was acquitted of the charges of sexual exploitation. Gourlay was back at the high court with Henein when she was invited to help argue an appeal in a 12-year-old murder case that resulted in a groundbreaking opinion: not only did the Supreme Court overturn the conviction, but it slapped new restrictions on when police can use sting operations that involve a fictional crime boss, known in legal argot as Mr. By Anne Kingston March 30, 2016. I mean, they cant pass nationalized daycare effectively in Canada. [4] She eventually was named a partner of the firm in 1998. It was a constant inquiry: Where are you from? Bio, Age, Wife, Net worth, Nationality. I cant focus on that. By using marriedcelebrity.com, you agree to our terms of use. Now she intends to do the same for Jian Ghomeshi, even if it. She grabbed her (LL.M.) In it, Edelson advised colleagues defending sexual assault cases to whack the complainant hard with every available fact that might call into question her integrity or grip on reality. A Toronto based criminal lawyer Marie Henein was born in 1966. For pursuing higher education in the law, she enrolled at the Columbia Law School to complete her Master of Laws degree. Poster Girl. On June 11, 2019 Marie Henein retired as the chair of the Pro Bono Inmate Appeals Program ("PIAP") after twenty years of service. She said, Just do the work, Greenwood recalls. We arent triggered constantly; we arent falling or passing out every time someone says something that we dont agree with. Its all part of the bullshit Cinderella story. She dishes out the same tough-love brand of feminism in speeches and articles, blaming Martha Stewart and her ilk for their toxic message of perfectionism. But when you are in Ottawa, which again, was like a foreign country to me, inside baseball is palpable. I cant believe you did this, he roared. If I dress this way, its because it amuses me, she shrugs. They bonded immediately as brainy, wisecracking outsiders, all three regularly annexing the top marks in their class. From the time she was in Grade 7, she knew her destiny was to be a criminal lawyer, the path her father regretted not taking. In religion class, where most students chose heartwarming essay topics, Henein argued the merits of abortion and premarital sex. Her smartest and toughest character has made her established as one of the highest paid lawyers. He hired Marie to represent him in the court and defend him against the charges he was accused of. The Crown has 30 days to appeal the verdict, so Henein would not discuss specifics of the case. Frost was charged with four counts of sexual exploitation, allegedly having manipulated his teenage players on the Quinte Hawks into threesomes a decade earlier. My son calls me the Director of Funland Security, she says. Now Henein presides over one of the hottest criminal law boutiques in the city, a ten-member firm that has also attracted former deputy attorney general Murray Segal as counsel, and some hail her as the likely heir to the superstar mantle of Eddie Greenspan. [19], Canadian criminal defence lawyer (born 1966), Wente, Margaret. Even if the argument proved unsuccessful, she pointed out, Well, oh well, the judge has heard it.. Henein Hutchison LLP 34 The former Eddie Greenspan protge and current lawyer for Jian Ghomeshi runs the hottest criminal defence firm in Toronto. SEAN SPEER: Its even worse because of the way our electoral system works. Henein, who has often appeared on panels with Edelson, is no stranger to those tactics. A post shared by Ankie D. (@ankiidankii) on Feb 10, 2016 at 11:18am PST. By Ottawa criminal lawyer Marie Henein ( born 1966 ) [ 1 ] is a Canadian criminal lawyer... 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