Fighting addiction's death row: British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Ian Pitfield shows a measure of legal courage.

ABSTRACT: The art in law, like medicine, is in its humanity. Nowhere is the humanity in law more poignant than in BC Supreme Court Justice Ian Pitfield's recent judgment in the legal case aimed at protecting North America's only supervised injection facility (SIF) as a healthcare program: PHS Community Services Society versus the Attorney General of Canada. In order to protect the SIF from politicization, the PHS Community Services Society, the community organization that established and operates the program, along with two people living with addiction and three lawyers working for free, pro bono publico, took the federal government of Canada to court. The courtroom struggle that ensued was akin to a battle between David and Goliath. The judge in the case, Justice Pitfield, ruled in favour of the PH

SUBMITTER: Small D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2611970 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature