John Weingust
Encyclopedia
John Weingust is a veteran lawyer
in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
. He is a Queen's Counsel
, and has been involved in several high-profile cases.
Weingust represented an Ontario mental patient in a prominent human rights case during the early 1980s. The patient in question had never been charged with a criminal offense, but was held in a windowless cell at the Penetanguishene Mental Health Centre for ten years on the grounds that he was prone to violent behaviour. As his representative, Weingust planned to challenge sections of the Ontario Mental Health Act that allowed a person to be certified and imprisoned without a hearing, arguing that such policy contravened the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
. He withdrew his application when the patient was transferred to a medium-security facility.
Weingust became an adviser to the Canadian Association for the Welfare of Psychiatric Patients through his involvement in this case. He lamented the state of Ontario's mental institutions in guest columns for the Globe and Mail newspaper, and called for significant reforms to the Mental Health Act. In 1984, he wrote an opinion piece against involuntary electroshock treatment.
Parking tickets
Weingust has become well-known in recent years for challenging the legality of parking tickets, mostly his own. He once claimed that he received about 60 tickets a year, and beat 59 of them. He explained to a reporter that he has studied Toronto's parking by-laws in detail, and knows how to exploit loopholes. Weingust has argued that Toronto's ticketing system is essentially unjust, and is used by the municipal government for revenue rather than as a serious means of relieving traffic congestion.
In 2004, he argued that Ontario's Municipal Act did not grant municipalities the power to issue traffic tickets. The court did not accept his argument.
Other cases
Weingust represented a tobacco
farmer who had been denied a license by the Ontario Fine-Cured Tobacco Growers' Marketing Board in 1965. Weingust criticized the board's powers to destroy crops grown in contravention of its mandate, arguing that only dictatorial regimes had ever made use of such powers.
In 1984, Weingust successfully argued before the Supreme Court of Ontario
that a divorced woman should receive half of her husband's company pension. This was the first such test of the Ontario Family Law Reform Act before the Supreme Court.
In 2002, Weingust argued that the City of Toronto had no right to charge ticket scalpers
with an offense. He argued that a bylaw requiring a licence to sell "goods, wares or merchandise" did not specifically cover the sale of tickets, and therefore could not be used to prosecute scalpers. He also described scalping as a "victimless crime" that served a useful function for ordinary consumers. On this occasion, his argument was unsuccessful.
in 1979. He holds a fifth-degree black belt in Taekwon-Do.
He was a fringe candidate for Mayor of Toronto in the 2006 municipal election
, describing himself as someone "who has been fighting traffic tickets for over 30 years as an advocate for motorists". He argued that parking tickets were a disguised form of taxation, and that they were illegal. He received 312 votes, finishing in 37th place. He was 76 years old during the campaign.
Weingust has also written several Letters to the Editor
over the years, on a variety of different subjects. An avid sports fan, he wrote a 1993 feature in the Globe and Mail newspaper against a trend toward brawling in hockey
.
On September 25, 1991, the Toronto Star
newspaper printed one of his remarks as its "quote of the day": "Justice is blind, but the jury system is its guide dog".
In 2008, Weingust launched a website, http://www.mar-o.ca, to voice his opinions and concerns against the unfairness of gas and oil prices to the average consumer.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He is a Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
, and has been involved in several high-profile cases.
Legal career
Rights of mental health patientsWeingust represented an Ontario mental patient in a prominent human rights case during the early 1980s. The patient in question had never been charged with a criminal offense, but was held in a windowless cell at the Penetanguishene Mental Health Centre for ten years on the grounds that he was prone to violent behaviour. As his representative, Weingust planned to challenge sections of the Ontario Mental Health Act that allowed a person to be certified and imprisoned without a hearing, arguing that such policy contravened the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada. It forms the first part of the Constitution Act, 1982...
. He withdrew his application when the patient was transferred to a medium-security facility.
Weingust became an adviser to the Canadian Association for the Welfare of Psychiatric Patients through his involvement in this case. He lamented the state of Ontario's mental institutions in guest columns for the Globe and Mail newspaper, and called for significant reforms to the Mental Health Act. In 1984, he wrote an opinion piece against involuntary electroshock treatment.
Parking tickets
Weingust has become well-known in recent years for challenging the legality of parking tickets, mostly his own. He once claimed that he received about 60 tickets a year, and beat 59 of them. He explained to a reporter that he has studied Toronto's parking by-laws in detail, and knows how to exploit loopholes. Weingust has argued that Toronto's ticketing system is essentially unjust, and is used by the municipal government for revenue rather than as a serious means of relieving traffic congestion.
In 2004, he argued that Ontario's Municipal Act did not grant municipalities the power to issue traffic tickets. The court did not accept his argument.
Other cases
Weingust represented a tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
farmer who had been denied a license by the Ontario Fine-Cured Tobacco Growers' Marketing Board in 1965. Weingust criticized the board's powers to destroy crops grown in contravention of its mandate, arguing that only dictatorial regimes had ever made use of such powers.
In 1984, Weingust successfully argued before the Supreme Court of Ontario
Supreme Court of Ontario
The Supreme Court of Ontario was a superior court of the Canadian province of Ontario. Now defunct, in 1989 the Courts of Justice Amendment Act, 1989 was enacted by the Government to create one large superior trial court for Ontario...
that a divorced woman should receive half of her husband's company pension. This was the first such test of the Ontario Family Law Reform Act before the Supreme Court.
In 2002, Weingust argued that the City of Toronto had no right to charge ticket scalpers
Scalping
Scalping is the act of removing another person's scalp or a portion of their scalp, either from a dead body or from a living person. The initial purpose of scalping was to provide a trophy of battle or portable proof of a combatant's prowess in war...
with an offense. He argued that a bylaw requiring a licence to sell "goods, wares or merchandise" did not specifically cover the sale of tickets, and therefore could not be used to prosecute scalpers. He also described scalping as a "victimless crime" that served a useful function for ordinary consumers. On this occasion, his argument was unsuccessful.
Other
Weingust was appointed as Queen's CounselQueen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
in 1979. He holds a fifth-degree black belt in Taekwon-Do.
He was a fringe candidate for Mayor of Toronto in the 2006 municipal election
Toronto municipal election, 2006
The 2006 Toronto municipal election took place on 13 November 2006 to elect a mayor and 44 city councillors in Toronto, Ontario. In addition, school trustees were elected to the Toronto District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board, Conseil scolaire de district du Centre-Sud-Ouest...
, describing himself as someone "who has been fighting traffic tickets for over 30 years as an advocate for motorists". He argued that parking tickets were a disguised form of taxation, and that they were illegal. He received 312 votes, finishing in 37th place. He was 76 years old during the campaign.
Weingust has also written several Letters to the Editor
Letter to the editor
A letter to the editor is a letter sent to a publication about issues of concern from its readers. Usually, letters are intended for publication...
over the years, on a variety of different subjects. An avid sports fan, he wrote a 1993 feature in the Globe and Mail newspaper against a trend toward brawling in hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
.
On September 25, 1991, the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
newspaper printed one of his remarks as its "quote of the day": "Justice is blind, but the jury system is its guide dog".
In 2008, Weingust launched a website, http://www.mar-o.ca, to voice his opinions and concerns against the unfairness of gas and oil prices to the average consumer.