Nova Scotia's problematic family court judge
Morning File, Wednesday, June 13, 2018
JUNE 13, 2018 BY TIM BOUSQUET 6 COMMENTS
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1. Court of Appeal lambastes custody ruling
Associate Chief Justice Lawrence O'Neil. Photo: Nova Scotia Barristers Society
In November 2017, I reported that:
In August [2017], Lawrence O'Neil, the Associate Chief Justice of the Family Court, awarded custody of a five-year-old boy to the child's father, who has a history of domestic violence, even though the father had previously signed away his right to custody.
After the Examiner wrote about the case, the story was picked up by Huffington Post reporter Zi-Ann Lum, who interviewed the mother for her piece "Nowhere to Turn: A secretive government service was supposed to protect an abused mom. A judge undid it all."
Two weeks ago, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal overturned O'Neil's ruling with an oral decision. No reporters were present, but Lum learned of the decision and interviewed both the mother and the father for another article published by Huffington Post, "Arrest Warrant Tossed For Halifax Mom Who Fled Domestic Abuse."
