A Divisional Court of the Ontario Court of Justice has ruled that the Ontario Racing Commission exceeded its jurisdiction when it attempted to discipline lawyer Gerald Sternberg after an exchange with ORC chairman Rod Seiling during a hearing on March 6, 2008.

An article in The Globe And Mail states that Sternberg asked the provincial court for judicial review of an ORC ruling which suspended Sternberg's right to represent clients in ORC courts unless he presented a formal apology.

After the March 6 incident, Sternberg was called to appear before what he thought was an informal board meeting to discuss the incident. During the meeting, Sternberg apologized multiple times for the incident in question, where he questioned Seiling's knowledge of the cross examination process. The six-member panel of the board then adjourned for eight minutes, yet came back with a typewritten decision which took 25 minutes to read.

The Divisional Court has found the ORC's typewritten decision "pre-prepared" and that it showed "a reasonable apprehension of bias" towards Sternberg. The ORC's typewritten decision had stated that Sternberg had not apologized for his conduct toward Seiling, yet he had done so multiple times just before the ORC panel adjourned and came back with the extensive decision.

To view the court ruling in PDF format, click here.

To read The Globe And Mail article in its entirety, click here.

(With files from The Globe And Mail)