The Last Exile

I think it was Shakespeare who once wrote – ‘The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.’ I would look it up, but I am far too lazy this morning, but I think I have found the one lawyer we really do need to keep around. Toronto Police Const. A. Joseph’s launched a suit against You Tube for hosting the Officer Bubbles cartoons and required the cartoons be removed in addition to demanding You Tube reveal the identities of commenters who Const. Joseph believes defamed him. The Toronto Star reports the latest twist:

But now Officer Bubbles is back – arresting Santa Claus, beating up a news photographer and subjecting President Obama to the secret five-metre law. The eight cartoons were uploaded on Oct. 17 by a new user – MisterOfficerBubbles – and have already been viewed more than 44,600 times and garnered 77 new comments.

One user writes, “Now sue me! (pathetic)” while another taunts, “He can’t sue the whole world!!!” The cartoons are in response to a viral video posted during the G20 summit in June that shows Const. Josephs threatening to arrest a young female protester for blowing bubbles. For now, The YouTube has not revealed the names of the cartoon creator or the commenters.

Enter David Shiller to do the right thing:

Toronto lawyer David Shiller, who defends the bubble-blower in the original video, has offered to represent those facing legal action free of charge. “His case in a very, very real sense threatens peoples’ right to comment on the police conduct at the G20, and that is undeniably a very important and controversial public issue,” Shiller said.

Shiller stumbled upon the bubbles incident while on a stroll through his Parkdale neighbourhood, and said what was captured in the video is only a small part of a greater display of force he describes as “frightening.” “For a billion dollars, I could’ve got someone with a better attitude,” he tells Const. Josephs in the video, referencing the highly-criticized price tag of the G8 and G20 summits. Months later, Shiller is pleased that the threat of a lawsuit has not put an end to the online discussion. “Sometimes the mere fact of starting a defamation proceeding scares people into silence and a powerful party can achieve their objective without the issue ever being decided in the court,” he said. Shiller suggested the case could rack up quite a bill if it goes to trial. “Litigation is a very expensive process. I wonder how officer Josephs can afford a case that can easily cost $100,000,” Shiller said.

Shiller is a mensch and he is right. Litigation is a very expensive process and fFor a billion dollars we should have gotten a far, far better attitude from the Toronto Police Forces and while I don’t condone the conduct of those who have allegedly threatened Const. Joseph or his family with bodily harm; it is my opinion that Const. Joseph has no one but himself to blame for the ridicule heaped on him which comes about entirely by his own asinine conduct when faced with a harmless bubble blower.