POT RAP CAN'T STAND, JUDGE TOLD

A Toronto lawyer will ask a judge Friday to toss out a pot possession
charge arguing he should follow a Windsor ruling that there's no law in
Canada barring the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

"This is the first time I'm aware that any lawyer, especially in Toronto,
has made the motion to try and apply the Windsor ruling," lawyer Aaron
Harnett told The Sun.

Last week Judge Douglas Phillips threw out charges against a 16-year-old
Windsor teen agreeing with a defence argument that there are no laws in
Canada prohibiting the possession of 30 grams of marijuana or less. The
federal government is appealing the decision.

Harnett's client is charged with dangerous driving and possession of marijuana.

Yesterday's hearing was supposed to be to set a trial date, but Harnett
told Justice John Moore that given the Windsor decision he didn't believe
the judge had jurisdiction to do even that anymore.

"There's no jurisdiction to set a trial date on simple possession of
marijuana as a result of the Windsor decision," he told court.

Outside court he said: "Why set a trial date for a matter that is not an
offence in Ontario?"

Moore, who decided on a hearing Friday, noted the feds should have a policy
in place to handle these cases.

Justice department spokesman Jim Leising said that "all the prosecutors
have been told that if somebody indicates they want to rely on this same
argument advanced in Windsor we should agree to adjourn the case until
after the appeal is heard and judgment issued.

"There isn't a lot of sense in having a whole series of lower court
decisions going in a lot of different directions and there isn't a lot of
point in having a multitude of appeals."

Leising said the plan is to go in front of a judge in Windsor to schedule a
hearing next week.