Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Chris Spence plagiarism case mired in legal conflicts of interest

Whether or not Chris Spence cheated on his doctoral thesis is likely to remain unresolved for some time yet.

Nearly 18 months after the high-profile director of Canada’s largest school board resigned after admitting he plagiarized an article for the Star, he will face charges Tuesday from the University of Toronto that he cribbed portions of his 1996 doctoral thesis.

But before the U of T tribunal even begins to hear arguments about plagiarism, Spence’s lawyer, Selwyn Pieters, will claim there has been an “abuse of process” because of delays, and conflict of interest among the university’s lawyers.

He will argue that Ian Roland, the lawyer who advised Spence during his severance from the Toronto District School Board, works for the same law firm that was to prosecute Spence for the U of T, and that the firm never obtained the proper legal waiver from Spence needed in order to jump sides.  (more...)

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