Mr. Justice James (Jim Shabbits) - A Judicial Puppet
James Shabbits - The Puppet
James (Jim) Shabbits was a lawyer who once practiced law in the City of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.
At one time he had been a partner in a law firm with deceased Judge Number 1 - James Taylor and deceased Judge Number 6, Ralph Hutchinson.
In 1992, James Shabbits was appointed to be a judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
In or about May, 1997, James Shabbits was assigned to the Sun Belt Water Inc lawsuit in the superior courts of British Columbia and so it was Justice Shabbits function to hear pre-trial motions.
As part of its preparation for trial, the lawyer for Sun Belt Water Inc. filed several motions to compel disclosure of documents and to compel pre-trail examination of various witnesses. These motion were all set to go before Justice James Shabbits on a day in June 1997 that was prearranged with the court registry to meet the schedule of Justice James Shabbits. Due to the fact that there were several motions and due to the fact the Government of British Columbia also wished to make certain motions a full day was set aside weeks in advance for the hearing.
The hearing was set for the courthouse in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island which was where Justice Shabbits usually sat for hearings and was a convenient half way point between the office of the lawyer for Sun Belt Water Inc., in Comox, about 70 miles to the north west and the officer of the lawyer for the Government of British Columbia, in Victoria, about 80 miles to the south east.
As the hearing day approached, Jack Lindsey, the CEO of Sun Belt Water Inc. called the company lawyer in Canada and asked if there was anything he could do to assist with the hearing.
Mr. Carten advised Mr. Lindsey that if he could be present in court on the hearing day that would be of great potential assistance. He said that it was his practice to try to have his clients in court whenever there was a hearing on the case because Canadian judges often acted very badly in the absence of a party. He said it would also be useful to have his client present in court in case the court had any questions that needed an immediate answer.
Mr. Lindsey agreed and traveled from Santa Barbara, California, to Canada to be present on the morning the case was set for a hearing.
What ensued in the courthouse in Nanaimo that morning shows that Mr. James Shabbits was not an independent judge but was, instead, a judicial puppet.
The case was the only case on the docket before Mr. Shabbits that morning but, immediately after he entered the courtroom and took his seat, Mr. Justice James (Jim) Shabbits sheepishly announced that he could not hear the case because he had been assigned to travel to Campbell River a small city 100 miles to the north west to hear an appeal of a small claims court case.
When reminded that the Sun Belt case had been specifically set before him three weeks in advance and that Mr. Lindsey had traveled from Santa Barbara to be present in court for the hearing Mr. Shabbits stated he had no idea that Mr. Lindsey was coming.
Mr. Shabbits then ran out the courtroom and pretended to jump in his car to drive to Campbell River to hear an appeal of a small claims court case.
This kind of conduct by a Supreme Court judge was unprecedented and it was very obvious that James Shabbits was dancing to the tune of some unknown puppet master.
At one time he had been a partner in a law firm with deceased Judge Number 1 - James Taylor and deceased Judge Number 6, Ralph Hutchinson.
In 1992, James Shabbits was appointed to be a judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
In or about May, 1997, James Shabbits was assigned to the Sun Belt Water Inc lawsuit in the superior courts of British Columbia and so it was Justice Shabbits function to hear pre-trial motions.
As part of its preparation for trial, the lawyer for Sun Belt Water Inc. filed several motions to compel disclosure of documents and to compel pre-trail examination of various witnesses. These motion were all set to go before Justice James Shabbits on a day in June 1997 that was prearranged with the court registry to meet the schedule of Justice James Shabbits. Due to the fact that there were several motions and due to the fact the Government of British Columbia also wished to make certain motions a full day was set aside weeks in advance for the hearing.
The hearing was set for the courthouse in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island which was where Justice Shabbits usually sat for hearings and was a convenient half way point between the office of the lawyer for Sun Belt Water Inc., in Comox, about 70 miles to the north west and the officer of the lawyer for the Government of British Columbia, in Victoria, about 80 miles to the south east.
As the hearing day approached, Jack Lindsey, the CEO of Sun Belt Water Inc. called the company lawyer in Canada and asked if there was anything he could do to assist with the hearing.
Mr. Carten advised Mr. Lindsey that if he could be present in court on the hearing day that would be of great potential assistance. He said that it was his practice to try to have his clients in court whenever there was a hearing on the case because Canadian judges often acted very badly in the absence of a party. He said it would also be useful to have his client present in court in case the court had any questions that needed an immediate answer.
Mr. Lindsey agreed and traveled from Santa Barbara, California, to Canada to be present on the morning the case was set for a hearing.
What ensued in the courthouse in Nanaimo that morning shows that Mr. James Shabbits was not an independent judge but was, instead, a judicial puppet.
The case was the only case on the docket before Mr. Shabbits that morning but, immediately after he entered the courtroom and took his seat, Mr. Justice James (Jim) Shabbits sheepishly announced that he could not hear the case because he had been assigned to travel to Campbell River a small city 100 miles to the north west to hear an appeal of a small claims court case.
When reminded that the Sun Belt case had been specifically set before him three weeks in advance and that Mr. Lindsey had traveled from Santa Barbara to be present in court for the hearing Mr. Shabbits stated he had no idea that Mr. Lindsey was coming.
Mr. Shabbits then ran out the courtroom and pretended to jump in his car to drive to Campbell River to hear an appeal of a small claims court case.
This kind of conduct by a Supreme Court judge was unprecedented and it was very obvious that James Shabbits was dancing to the tune of some unknown puppet master.
Mr. James (Jim) Shabbits - Continued
A few weeks later, when the applications were set before Mr. Justice Shabbits again and Mr. Lindsey was not able to be present in the courtroom, Mr. James (Jim ) Shabbits proved he was biased by denying every single application by Sun Belt Water Inc. and granting every single application by the Government of British Columbia, including the application that Sun Belt Water Inc. post a bond in the sum of $28,000 for security for costs in favour of the Government of British Columbia if Sun Belt Water Inc. wished to proceed with the case.
Justice Shabbits added a clause in the court order that was not asked for that permitted the Government of British Columbia to apply for more security for costs at any time it wished.
It was very obvious that Justice Shabbits was taking instructions from insiders again.
Once a puppet always a puppet.
Justice Shabbits added a clause in the court order that was not asked for that permitted the Government of British Columbia to apply for more security for costs at any time it wished.
It was very obvious that Justice Shabbits was taking instructions from insiders again.
Once a puppet always a puppet.
Help Us Clean Out The Nanaimo Courthouse
As a result of this Web Site, we are being contacted by increasing numbers of people who have had similar problems with the judges and lawyers who operate out of the Nanaimo Courthouse and we encourage you to share that information with us .
We are currently looking for information on lawyers John Horn, Brent Hird and Joanne Platt who regularly practice in Nanaimo. We have heard stories about both of these lawyers that leads us to believe they should be behind bars instead of members of the bar.
In addition, we are looking for information on Judge Gould, Judge Saunders, Justice Halfyard, and Justice Shabbits, who also operate out of the Nainaimo Courthouse
We are currently looking for information on lawyers John Horn, Brent Hird and Joanne Platt who regularly practice in Nanaimo. We have heard stories about both of these lawyers that leads us to believe they should be behind bars instead of members of the bar.
In addition, we are looking for information on Judge Gould, Judge Saunders, Justice Halfyard, and Justice Shabbits, who also operate out of the Nainaimo Courthouse