THERE'S A new twist to
legal benevolence that you
may find difficult to
believe.

But in an age when women can
get away with knocking off their
husbands on the grounds that the
husbands were not nice to them,
you should be surprised at
nothing.

The twist is that if a person’s
parent undergoes an unpleasant
experience, like being in a concen-
tration camp during the
Holocaust, that person may be

“‘ excused his faults and misde-

meanors. This even though the

‘” person’s daddy wasn’t holocausted

himself and was, in fact, a sur-
vivor. .

Such was the reasoning of the
Law Society’s Benchers in the case
of Felix Arnold Reuben, a Jewish
lawyer in Victoria (identified as
such for obvious reasens) who

‘was initially disbarred.

Why a parent’s experiences __
should have had any bearing on
‘an offspring’s actions in dealing

» with legal clients defies logic. But

the Benchers annulled the disbar-
ment. .

‘The facts are contained in a
B.C. Law Society’s digest which
; Teports on the sins of this great
province’s lawyers and was
© published last year with no other

_ publicity that | am aware of,

Reuben’s sins were consider-
‘able. He received a $2,500 retainer
from a client, refused to give the

“-¢lient a receipt for the money,
failed to put the moncy into a
trust fund — in order to avoid

. paying income tax on it — and in
two hearings licd to the Law
Society about having received the

: funds.

’ He also breached the rules by
_ accepting the moncy at all, the
_, Slient having been a legal aid case,
“and the report states that his
behavior was “demeaning and
» dishonest.”” :

The moncy was eventually ree
. covered, but he got himself into a
” fine tangle with his fibs and con-

* fabulations. :
” Reuben had an ace.up his sleeve
though; namely, the little old 7

- Holocaust, which has its uses 50

years after the event and will .-

Collins

ON THE OTHER “HAND

probably still have them 150 years
from now.

_ A psychiatrist of unspecified
race or religion testified on
Reuben’s behalf that the offspring
of Holocaust survivors are often
subject to strange behavior.
Here’s how it was put in the Law
Society digest:

“The disbarment was overturn-
ed by the Benchers after con-
sideration of the member's public
service record and psychiatric evi-
dence.

“A psychiatric expert stated
that the member's denial was
linked to early trauma he experi-
enced as the child of Holocaust
survivors. The expert aoted that it
was common for children of
Holocaust survivors to compart-
mentalize threatening thoughts
and feelings.

“*The expert found it therefore
not surprising that the member,

‘when confronted with a potential-

ly serious problem, denied its ex-

- istence before finally admitting his

misconduct...

“After making that admission
the member received news that
phiced him back in a state of
denial, which is when he misled
the Disciptine Hearing Commit-
tec,"*

State of denial? Should anyone
subject to a state of denial —
meaning lying — be in law? Hf the
shrink is right, shouldn’t the very
pessibility exclude all the off-

‘spring of Holocaust survivors?

And what “news” brought him
to that state? Tax hikes?

Could 1, or you, dear reader,
get off similar charges by having a
shrink plead a state of denial for
us? Could I plead that my dad’s
experiences in the wars justified
extenuating circumstances?

As for denying the existence of
a ‘potentially serious problem,”
itis not uncommon, Politicians do
it daily.

Starting with Freud, the funny
father of them all, | have tittle
confidence in the theories of
psychiatrists.

They often claim that criminals
are safe to be allowed to roam jhe
streets, whereupon the felons
happily repeat their crimes. Yea,
even unto rape and murder.

Denying or compartmentalizing
threatening thoughts and fectings
is also an old habit of mine. 31's
called being an optimist. But I
would bet my last sock that being
an optimist would do me no good
in such a case.

There must be lots of lawyers
who would like to have had a
Holocaust daddy to fall back on.
Or more accurately a daddy who,
Jet us repeat, wasn't holocausted
at all but was a survivor.

Although the Benchers are not a
court of law, they may have
created a precedent that will be of
use to crooks of all kinds.

Mind you, Reuben didn’t escape
unscathed. He was placed on an
18-month suspension and must
submit to consultations with a
shrink ‘until relieved of his con-
dition’’ (lovely expression).

One more question: if the
children of Holocaust survivors
are Co be excused their misde-
meanors, what about the grand-
children?

Over to you, professor.

aane

Posiscript: When I called the

. Law Society of B.C, to check on

this story | was told that Mr.
Reuben is now facing a second,
unconnected disciplinary hearing.
If if goes against him, will the
Holocaust once again come to his
rescue? Stay tuned,

WV MLA appointed Liberal whip

WEST VANCOUVER- Capilano
“MLA: Jeremy ‘Dalton has been
appointed the. Opposition’ Liberal
caucus whip. ;

Dalton said’ he ‘was asked Jan,
25. by... Liberal . leader Gordon

* Wilson to take on the role after -
MLA Gary Farrell-Collins resign-

ed over the ‘issue of  Wilson’s
alleged involvement with fellow
Liberal MLA Judy Tyabji.

| For more information, please call 4
j . Tho North Shove’s only full
"". Service Investment firm

RBC
DOMINION
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Farrell-Collins' resigned after he
said Wilson could not guarantee
him that Wilson and Tyabji would
not enter into a personal relation-
ship in the future.

Both Wilson and Tyabji have
denied they are having an affair.

Daiton said Farrell-Collins had
informed him before‘he resigned
that he was going to suggest to
Wilson to appoint Dalton as the

party's new whip.

As whip, Dalton's respon-

‘sibilities inckide making sure all

party MLAs are accounted for
when the legislature is in session
and to inform party members of
upcoming caucus meetings.

“I'm quite happy to do the job.
I wish it had been under different
circumstances. My joh js to sup-
port the caucus and the leader.”

CANADIAN TIRE

{PACIFIC ASSOCIATE STORES LIMITED)

Wadnesday, February 3, 1993 ~ North Shore News'— 9

WV participating in Winteractive

ONE NON-PERISHABLE
food item will be the currency
required for entrance into West
Vancouver's drop-in swim-
ming, skating and other recre-
ation programs on Friday, Feb. 5.

West Vancouver District
Council agreed Monduy night

Patti Cake

to participate on Friday in an
international program called
Wiateractive to collect local
food bank donations.

“It will be a great thing for
the food bank, said Coun.
Pat Boname at the council
meeting,

Patti Cake

How many Pancakes can you eat?

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Served until 11 am. Saturday il [2 noon

located at the “Sundown” end
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The North Shore and the GVRD

How much will it cost?
What are the Implications?

« Upgrading of water -

», 3rd Crossing

» Regional government
versus local automomy

* Secondary sewage facilities
« Single car versus rapid transit
* Population density

An interview with Mayor Gordon
Campbell of Vancouver and GVRD
chairman with Ernie Crist as host .

SHAW CABLE
TUE. FEB, 2 7:00 p.m.

repeating:

© 2-way record

Feb. 4, 1:30pm, 9:30pm,
Feb. 5, 5:30pm, ;
Feb. 7, 11:30am & 9:30 pm

.© Enables caller to”

leave messages for
different people

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