CFN – For Kevin Langlois and Chantal Bickle in Cornwall Ontario the Justice system has been an education. The two were involved in an altercation with Lawyer Nicholas Dougan on the way to their father’s funeral. One that resulted in Mr. Langlois losing part of his ear after Mr. Dougan bit him and Mr. Dougan getting his head split open after Ms Bickle came to the defence of her younger brother.
All parties have been charged and are sifting their way through the court system with multiple appearances. This past week Mr. Langlois and his sister voiced some of their frustration at not being furnished with any legal support even though they both have been charged which can impact their lives, ability to travel, and gain possible employment.
Complicating matters even more apparently because Mr. Dougan is a local lawyer Mr. Langlois & Ms Bickle cannot get local legal aid or support. Even the prosecutor has been brought in from L’orignal. (She has not returned calls to CFN)
The buzz and concern of Mr. Langlois is that Mr. Dougan is making a plea deal to minimize damage. He also was told that most likely he will not be convicted so he doesn’t need legal support, but his concerns are that he has not been able to make a victims statement and he like many people who feel that they have been victimized, want a harsher penalty for the person he feels had harmed him.
Mr. Langlois from what he’s stated should qualify for legal aid, but stated that Duty Council has told him that they won’t refer him because of the conflict of interest.
The Canadian Bar Association recently released a report on Access to Justice in Canada entitled ” equal justice – balancing the scales” but the justice system still is an expensive and slow quagmire unless you have the resources, and sometimes even then, that works in a fashion that destroys many lives and forces many to plea guilty to crimes they have not committed.
The next court dates for this will be coming up soon. The Judge stated that what happens to Mr. Dougan will then play a role in what happens to Mr. Langlois and his sister.
What do you think dear viewers of CFN? You can post your comments below.
The lawyer Dougan acted very unprofessionally and in a low life way and not for one who is supposed to hold a respectable position. One thing that I do agree with the Langlois’ here is that he should not be practicing law anymore at all. This was totally unprofessional of him. The Langlois’ were at fault as well and I am sorry to hear about their father and when emotions get up like that then anything can happen and that is where I blame the lawyer.
So contact legal aid online, let them know about the fact that the local legal aid is unfortunately in the conflict of interest with Mr. Dougan, and have them assign someone from outside of town to assist with the situation. You don’t need a lawyer from Cornwall, and Legal aid in Cornwall doesn’t need to be the ones assisting with this. Call Greenspon from Toronto, whatever. Explain the situation. I’m sure one of them will be more than happy to pick up the case. Don’t call that Will McDowell guy or whatever representing the city though. We all know how that will go..
I would advise Mr. Langlois just like Anon said to do is to get a lawyer from out of town. Mr. Langlois you are entitled to a lawyer and legal aid. Many years ago when we lived in Cornwall our neighbors told us in these words that I am going to put in parenthesis “if you ever need a lawyer for something you must get one from out of town since the lawyers in Cornwall are tied to the hip and there is no defence for you at all” and we never forgot any of that. Here in Ottawa like any big city life is very different and you don’t even know your neighbors. Lawyers are all out to make a buck and in big cities there is plenty of competition unlike a very small town like Cornwall. Cornwall is very behind compared to many places. Seek a lawyer from outside of Cornwall and this you can do very easily. Lawyers are very hungry these days and will jump at your offer. You have no idea how hungry they all are. So Mr. Langlois go to it and get yourself representation elsewhere. Cornwall is like a farm and I have said that on CFN as well as “the toilet paper of record – SF” and I mean that. Seek representation elsewhere. All the best to you and your sister. Go get them!
There should be no charge against anyone… or all ..Mr Langlois was going through a red light… Legally he did not have right of way funeral or no funeral…
Mr Dougan was wrong also ..but i have forgotten who approached who first.. if it was Langlois who hit Dougan then Dougan bit his ear well … Did we not hear earlier that the police said no charges were laid?
as in most cases cornwall is, yes, a tight knit community when it comes to anyone with letters following their name. from my experience with these people, I have learned that a university degree teaches the recipient how to steal from the common person without repercussions upon themselves through a loophole or twisting of the law to fit their needs. dump trucks as most know them will downgrade a charge in hopes you will accept a lesser plea to save the court the time in finding out the truth about your charges. yes take the lesser plea and that will be a thousand dollar fine, I year of classes, 6 months of community service, and a record for the rest of your life. too many times this happens in our community. when you are wronged by these people, they will hide behind their knowledge, leaveing you to fend for yourself. the only recourse is to seek legal advice from unrestricted resources, young legal technicians will fight to make a name for themselves more so than an established old goat. seek legal representation from outside the community as suggested kevin. its your only course of action against the cruel reality of this close knit community of legal representatives. best of luck kevin, your community stands behind you and we’re watching the outcome