It was a specifying minute in among the highest possible account questions in Saskatchewan’s background.
In 2003, Justice Minister Eric Cline bought a public questions right into the fatality of 17-year-old Neil Stonechild greater than a years previously, consisting of Stonechild’s call with participants of the Saskatoon Police Service.
Stonechild’s household thought the teenager had actually remained in authorities guardianship the evening he adhered fatality in November 1990. Defence attorney Silas Halyk stood for the after that-Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations at the questions.
Halyk revealed close-up pictures of Stonechild’s face — his body had actually been exhumed as component of the instance’s re-investigation — on a three-metre high display in the jam-packed resort ballroom where the questions occurred, after that laying over manacles onto the injuries on the teenager’s face. The handcuff arm bands fit exactly right into the grooves throughout the bridge of the teenager’s nose.
“I’m telling you that any reasonable person in my mind, looking at those photographs and the superimposition of the handcuffs, can’t resist coming to a conclusion that those are handcuff markings,” Halyk informed CBC in a 2005 meeting.
“It says to me that, at some point in time, Neil Stonechild was in police custody.”
Don Worme stood for Stonechild’s household at the questions.
“It had the impact that I think that one could anticipate it would have,” he claimed.
“I think it’s fair to say that Mr. Halyk played that with the kind of skill and delicacy that one would expect.”
Commissioner David Wright inevitably wrapped up that Neil Stonechild had actually remained in authorities guardianship the evening he passed away.
Halyk, a tale in Saskatchewan’s lawful neighborhood, passed away onDec 2. He was 86.
Civil and criminal job
Halyk was likewise an achieved pilot. (CBC)
According to the Law Society of Saskatchewan, Silas Eugene Halyk researched at the University of Saskatchewan and was phoned call to bench in July 1962. Three years later on he paused to seek post-graduate researches at University of Michigan.
He went back to Saskatoon in 1966 and returned to an occupation that would certainly cover the following 5 years.
“He was sort of the last of the people that had a very diverse criminal and civil practice,” claimed Saskatoon protection attorney Mark Brayford.
“Most people were practising in the area of criminal and civil law prior to Si Halyk’s time. But this was kind of the turning point âĤ where people started specializing in one or the other. Si was known as a first-rate counsel on both sides of the civil and criminal law spectrums.”
The Canadian Legal Information Institute collects court judgments from throughout the nation in an openly available data source. Entering Halyk’s name in the search area exposes the breadth of his passions.
His name is connected to murders, damaged driving situations, injury situations and clinical negligence matches. He likewise functioned as primary government arbitrator in land negotiation talks with the Moosomin First Nation and Thunderchild First Nation.
U of S regulation teacher Glen Luther was functioning as a protection attorney in Alberta when he initially went across courses withHalyk In the very early 1990s, both serviced regarding a loads situations with each other, most damaged driving, and ended up being close friends.
“He wasn’t a sort of detailed guy, necessarily, he’s not spending all kinds of time in a library. That was sort of more how I was, I really like doing the legal research,” Luther claimed.
“Si was more just, well, let’s just look at the witnesses. Let’s decide what the issue is and go for the jugular, if I can put it that way.”
In the court
Court of King’s Bench Justice Gerald Allbright remembered his impressions of Halyk, that visitor talked while Allbright remained in regulation institution.
“A very imposing physical presence with his stature, his looks and his voice,” Allbright claimed.
“He had a command of the subject matter, criminal procedure, that was unique to a highly qualified practitioner.”
Allbright had Halyk initially as an instructor and afterwards, later on, as a companion in their company Halyk Allbright
“He was very experienced, I was very energetic,” Allbright claimed.
Allbright ended up being a King’s Bench court in 1995. Halyk remained in the trenches.
“He would have been an excellent candidate [to be a judge],” Allbright claimed.
“Si was not one to have a chief justice telling him where to sit, and when âĤ he liked to do the things that he wanted to do, when he wanted to do them. He worked hard, but he wanted to choose what he worked at.”
Mark Brayford likewise remembers seeing Halyk function a court.
“Everyone has their own litigation style and Si was unique in his ability, through words, to manipulate people, whether it was in a negotiation or on the witness stand,” he claimed.
“He just had this ability to push the right mental button to trigger the reaction that he wanted.”
Worme keeps in mind exactly how Halyk just gotten in touch with individuals.
“He could talk to the man on the street or the executive in the highest boardroom with the same sort of casual friendliness, and he would be accepted in the same fashion.”
Luther claimed Halyk had a propensity for recognizing precisely what individuals required.
“He could really read courts well,” claimed Luther.
“He really knew what a judge wanted, it was just sort of a natural ability. He really had a good rapport with clients and courts and police officers and prosecutors, whoever he had to deal with. Si was one of those guys that people just liked and respected â and, if you didn’t listen to him, you paid the price.”
Paying it ahead
Luther went back to Saskatoon in 2003 to instruct at the U of S. He remained in touch with Halyk.
“I can remember when he came to me and was sort of, like, ‘how can I do something about advocacy at the U of S?'” Luther claimed.
“He was really keen to see law students learn about being good advocates in the court, not just good legal learners, but also very good at the courtroom work.”
Halyk, left, and arbitrator Warren Winkler at the 2016 campaigning for lecture. (University of Saskatchewan)
In 2009, the College of Law held the initial Silas E. Halyk Q.C. Visiting Scholar in Advocacy Lecture, including Ontario attorneyDavid Scott In complying with years, audio speakers consisted of Regina attorney Aaron Fox, Chief Justice Robert Richards, nationwide arbitrator Warren Winkler and elderly lawsuits attorney Christine Glazer.
“He wanted to get the students not only interested in advocacy, but also to learn from some of the best,” Luther claimed.
“He wanted lawyers to be better.”
Luther claimed you’re still most likely to see Halyk’s tradition in any kind of Saskatchewan court today.
“I think there’s probably 50 lawyers out there who would say that he was a serious mentor to them throughout their career,” he claimed.
“Everybody around here has learned a lot of things from Si Halyk.”
Gerald Allbright claimed Halyk will certainly be kept in mind “as a superstar lawyer.”
“He was the ultimate leading barrister of his day. And he was a gentleman.”
