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I suppose
what this title, above, refers to is the bond between celebrity untouchables
and the legal star system. Just as Jian
Ghomeshi’s “star” has been falling, so it seems has his legal representation
seen its “star” rising—Marie Henein, “fearless and brilliant” according to so
many (e.g. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/meet-marie-henein-the-fearless-and-brilliant-lawyer-defending-jian-ghomeshi-1.2851592).
As Christie
Blatchford reported, Henein, as the Master of Ceremonies at an Ontario Criminal Lawyers Association gala, regaled
some 450 lawyers and judges with quips like:
“As criminal lawyers, we represent people who have committed heinous acts,” she said on Oct. 29. “Acts of violence. Acts of depravity. Acts of cruelty.
“Or, as Jian Ghomeshi likes to call it, foreplay”;
or, referring to her work on the defense of accused sex offender and Nova Scotia premier Gerald Regan with palsy-walsy Eddie Greenspan, she said they had a collegial relationship over many files: “Some collegial, some regulatory, some light BDSM.”
Amongst the gang-pack of lawyer-judges chortling over Henein’s comments that night will almost certainly be the one who will be “judging” the accusations of women against Ghomeshi—is it any wonder women won’t come forward, when the legal system’s most august body, represented by one of its most admired female lawyers, has already joked about their traumas? You’re being choked to the point of wondering if you’d ever wake up again, and
Talk about a Henghomeshi made in heaven. A celebrity, mixed with a legal star, goes up against just some girl who got picked out by Jian.
Marie Henein has made it plain: get abused by Jian Ghomeshi—get abused by just about any guy—in
Let’s parse Henein’s statement:
Mr.
Ghomeshi will be pleading not guilty.
We will
address these allegations fully and directly (note how she echoes Jian’s Facebook statement) in a court room. It
is not my (one would have assumed that
it wouldn’t have been anyone else’s, but Marie wants to insist on it being
hers-“my”) practice to litigate my (once
again, Marie wants to insist upon the primacy of herself, the “my”) cases
in the media. This one will be no different.
Henein’s choice of words here is instructive; she keeps the focus on herself, and she indicates that trials are typically conducted in the media, but hers won’t be. It says something about the legal profession that she—and it—think they have to stress that they don’t conduct trials in courts anymore, but rather, “in the media.” It’s hard to know what she means by not conducting her trials in the media—few 5-year-olds would have imagined they’d be conducted anywhere else—but since she brought it up, she makes it amply clear that, if the opportunity affords itself, she will, indeed, conduct her trial in the media, using her media clients.
We will
say whatever we have to say in a court of law.
We will
not be making any further media statements, nor will Mr. Ghomeshi be making any
further media statements.
Thank
you.
Well, even the Blatch is star-struck—in her article (http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2014/11/07/christie-blatchford-jian-ghomeshis-lawyers-sexual-violence-jokes-expose-double-standard/) she writes to Henein, but not about anything involving the case—just about perceptions. The Blatch knows loss of her connections would leave her much, much less time to write about her dogs and get paid for it.
Some national conversation. We never meant to have it; we never did have it, we never will have it. Legal stars like Marie Henein will get media celebrities like Jian Ghomeshi off, and we will all go back to getting outraged from time to time. Also raped. The Blatch will write about her OWN experiences sometime.
Back to normal.
--zr
