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ONTARIO. PROVINCIAL COURT JUDGES
The Honourable Mr. Marin Morton
Brampton Ontario Court of Justice
Five years ago, he seemed to have everything going for him. Respected and widely liked as one of the fairest and most reasonable Crown attorneys around, Morton received an award from the Delos Davis Law Guild, a professional association for black lawyers, at the time he was appointed to the bench in 1993.
Much discussion
How he's become known as one of the worst judges in the province, therefore, is an especially perplexing enigma, and the subject of much discussion on the lawyers' grapevine.
One lawyer recalls witnessing a case where Morton, while still a Crown, agreed to a bail reduction from several hundred dollars to under $70 after the defendant's girlfriend said that that was all the money she had at the time.
"He obviously understands justice," the lawyer says. "No one can figure out what happened to him."
The most telling anecdote about how far Morton has come down in the world relates to a Christmas party for East Mall court staffers, lawyers and police in 1996 where Morton turned violent and launched into an uncontrollable "tirade," according to witnesses.
Before it was broken up -- no fewer than seven police officers were called to the scene -- Morton had screamed at and shoved another judge, then knocked down a lawyer who had tried to defuse the situation.
Although Morton was never charged in the incident, he was held that night on a Mental Health Act warrant and taken to a hospital.
He was subsequently forced to take a leave of absence and attend counselling. Yet when Morton reappeared on the bench months later, following a transfer from East Mall to Brampton, nothing had changed, according to local lawyers.
Angry outbursts
In the courtroom, Morton is renowned for angry, unpredictable outbursts against defendants and for a cynical attitude toward the concept of justice, as evidenced by one trial witnessed by a number of local lawyers. There the accused represented himself. When it was time for him to call witnesses, he indicated his desire to testify in his own defence.
Morton apparently asked him why he intended to do so, and the man responded by saying he wanted to earn an acquittal.
"Do you think I am going to believe you?" Morton is said to have asked.
"No, maybe no," the accused replied.
"Then why bother taking the stand?" Morton asked.
In another case, Morton made history by becoming the first judge ever to hand down a maximum sentence of five years less a day for a youth convicted as a minor for second-degree murder.
Several lawyers who have gone before Morton contend that he is what's known as a "fixer," a judge who will personally involve himself in a trial by asking questions that Crown attorneys miss, in order to bolster a case against an accused.
"It's like he can't stop acting like a Crown, even though he's on the bench," says one lawyer.
Others say Morton is notorious for frequently refusing to accept joint Crown-defence submissions on sentencing.
"It's a real pain in the ass," says one lawyer. "I mean, the Crown is there to represent the interests of society, so the judge should go along. Doesn't he trust the Crown?"
Many contend that Morton's behaviour is attributable to bitterness over the death of his son, killed in an accident at York University.
But, as one local defence lawyer puts it, "Considering how much power he has, if he can't leave his personal problems at home, then he shouldn't be in the job."