Decision record
Robert Glen Orris
JurisdictionCanada — British Columbia
BodyLaw Society of British Columbia (LSBC)
Professionlawyer
DateNovember 29, 2021
HearingRule 3-7.1 Consent Agreement | Summary
OutcomeRule 3-7.1 Consent Agreement | Summary
Allegation / charges
Rule 3-7.1 Consent Agreement | Summary
Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision
SanctionSuspension
Dishonesty foundNo
Glen Orris, Q.C. admitted professional misconduct for communicating on April 25, 2019 with jury panel members during a break in a 'faint hope' application, answering questions and responding to comments contrary to rule 5.5-1 of the BC Code of Professional Conduct. His communications led the hearing judge to discharge the jury panel and adjourn selection. Under a Rule 3-7.1 consent agreement accepted November 26, 2021, he agreed to a three-week suspension commencing December 2, 2021. He had a prior 2013 conduct review for similar juror-contact conduct. No dishonesty was found.
Duties found breached:
Aggravating factors:
- Prior professional conduct record: a 2013 conduct review for communicating and interacting with a juror at a gym during lunch breaks in a trial
- Communications resulted in the jury panel being discharged and jury selection adjourned
Mitigating factors:
- Cooperative and apologetic when the matter was brought to the trial judge's attention
- Readily agreed to the remedial process recommended by Crown Counsel
- Entered into a consent agreement admitting misconduct