N.S. Court of Appeal reserves decision in disbarment case of Lyle Howe

Former Halifax defence lawyer Lyle Howe and lawyers for the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society face many questions as they deal with the society's decision to kick Howe out of the legal profession.

The questions come from the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, which heard two days of arguments this week from Howe and the society.

Many of the questions from the judges on the five-member panel focused on the penalties levied against Howe.

A disciplinary panel of the society disbarred Howe after finding him guilty of professional misconduct and professional incompetence. The panel also imposed a cost penalty of $150,000.

Howe must pay that amount to the society before he can reapply to practise law. A society lawyer indicated during Thursday's hearing that Howe could pay in installments.

However, the judges questioned how Howe could come up with the money, given that he's not allowed to work in his chosen profession, and whether that represents a permanent impediment to him returning to the practice.

The judges asked whether the court had the authority to alter or rescind the award. They also asked whether, if they accepted the society's findings of guilt, they could impose a sentence on Howe less than disbarment.

Lawyers given deadline

The judges gave the lawyers until the end of this month to provide written answers to those and other questions.

In his arguments, Howe submitted cases of other lawyers in other jurisdictions who, he said, had committed similar or worse offences and yet faced less severe penalties.

Howe's central argument was that the decision to disbar him violated his equality rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms because he was singled out for closer scrutiny and faced harsher penalties than other lawyers.

He argued that the only reason for the different treatment was that he is black.

Comparison to Viola Desmond

He even went so far as to compare himself to famed civil rights crusader Viola Desmond, who was arrested after she refused to leave the whites-only section of a Nova Scotia theatre in 1947.

The lawyer for the barristers' society disputed Howe's assertions. Marjorie Hickey said Howe wasn't treated differently because of his race, but because he refused to follow the rules of his profession.

Hickey also said there was a big difference between Desmond and Howe in that she demonstrated integrity with the stand she took.

There is no indication when the court will rule on Howe's case but the judges will not have all the information they requested for another three weeks.

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