"But after nearly two decades in the trenches, Lomer grew disillusioned with the criminal justice system.
A lot of it had to do with the case of William Mullins-Johnson, the Sault Ste. Marie man who, at 24, was convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering his four-year-old niece, Valin, and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Lomer took on his appeal in 1994 and soon realized the evidence didn’t add up. But it would be years before the justice system acknowledged that Mullins-Johnson was one of at least 14 people wrongly convicted on the basis of flawed evidence from Dr. Charles Smith, then the undisputed guru of pediatric forensic pathology.
In 1996, Lomer managed to persuade one member of a three-judge panel of the Ontario Court of Appeal that Mullins-Johnson’s first-degree murder conviction should be set aside, for reasons unrelated to the pathology evidence. But the majority upheld his conviction.
Years later, Mullins-Johnson would tell the court that his conviction destroyed him and he lived every day in prison with the fear of being killed.
The case also haunted Lomer.
“It just soured him,” said Reed. “He was so upset by it. He was so sure he was innocent.”
Lomer clung to that belief for twelve years. In 2008, when Mullins-Johnson’s conviction was quashed by the Ontario Court of Appeal, Lomer was a member of the defence team.
It was one of his last appearances in lawyers’ robes..."
LEGAL AFFAIRS REPORTER TRACY TYLER; THE TORONTO STAR.
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"Michael Lomer’s sense of justice inspired him to become a criminal lawyer, but it was also what drove him from his profession," the Toronto Star obituary by Legal Affairs reporter Tracy Tyler published earlier today begins, under the heading, "Michael Lomer, 59: A passionate defender."
"He had a natural affinity for the underdog, which friends noticed as far back as high school in Don Mills, when he was always the first to stand up for any classmate who was picked on by a teacher," the obituary continues.
"Lomer died Dec. 13 at 59. Friends and family who gathered for his funeral Tuesday at Kingston Road United Church remembered a quietly passionate man who was a skilled sailor and knowledgeable about astronomy, music and art.
But being a defence lawyer was Lomer’s calling and, for many years, his love. He fought on behalf of the indigent and appeared before Commons justice committees in Ottawa, voicing the Ontario defence bar’s concerns about crime bills that potentially threatened individual liberties.
Becoming a judge just never appealed to him.
“He said, ‘Why would I be a referee, when I can be one of the players?’” recalled his partner, Marilyn Reed.
But after nearly two decades in the trenches, Lomer grew disillusioned with the criminal justice system.
A lot of it had to do with the case of William Mullins-Johnson, the Sault Ste. Marie man who, at 24, was convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering his four-year-old niece, Valin, and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Lomer took on his appeal in 1994 and soon realized the evidence didn’t add up. But it would be years before the justice system acknowledged that Mullins-Johnson was one of at least 14 people wrongly convicted on the basis of flawed evidence from Dr. Charles Smith, then the undisputed guru of pediatric forensic pathology.
In 1996, Lomer managed to persuade one member of a three-judge panel of the Ontario Court of Appeal that Mullins-Johnson’s first-degree murder conviction should be set aside, for reasons unrelated to the pathology evidence. But the majority upheld his conviction.
Years later, Mullins-Johnson would tell the court that his conviction destroyed him and he lived every day in prison with the fear of being killed.
The case also haunted Lomer.
“It just soured him,” said Reed. “He was so upset by it. He was so sure he was innocent.”
Lomer clung to that belief for twelve years. In 2008, when Mullins-Johnson’s conviction was quashed by the Ontario Court of Appeal, Lomer was a member of the defence team.
It was one of his last appearances in lawyers’ robes.
He had soldiered on after Mullins-Johnson’s conviction was upheld in 2006 and there were gratifying moments. Lomer was proud of having appeared in the Supreme Court of Canada in the case known as United States v. Burns, which shut the door on the death penalty ever returning to Canada.
But he was also increasingly disenchanted with the direction the criminal law was taking.
“The Criminal Code was getting thicker and thicker, with more laws and longer sentences,” said lawyer James Lockyer, a close friend.
Two years ago, Lomer shut down his practice and enrolled at York University to study art history and astronomy. He also helped care for his sister, Janet, who died of cancer last February.
When summer came, he devoted himself to some serious sailing. He helped a friend bring a boat home from Cuba. He also sailed from North Carolina to the Virgin Islands.
Sometimes he would lean back with a glass of wine and look toward the constellations.
“He knew the heavens better than many of us know the streets of Toronto,” said friend and fellow sailor Martyn Lyne.
Earlier this month, Lomer felt unusually tired and developed leg pains. At the hospital, doctors discovered he had pulmonary embolisms, but believed they were treating them successfully.
Lomer’s daughter, Corrin, 24, said she and sister, Eliza, 21, are grateful their father spent the past two years enjoying life and pursuing his eclectic interests, which recently came to include learning to sew, so he could repair torn sails while at sea.
Lomer’s mother loaned him her sewing machine and, for Reed, the memory of him driving his motorcycle to her home to collect it sums him up perfectly.
“There was Michael with a sewing machine on the back of his bike, heading out for a sewing lesson on his way to his astronomy class.”"
The obituary can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/article/911793--michael-lomer-59-a-passionate-defender
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be accessed at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
For a breakdown of some of the cases, issues and controversies this Blog is currently following, please turn to:
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=120008354894645705&postID=8369513443994476774
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
