Michael Quigley blew the scales off IQ tests and kung fu competitions and also served as a criminal lawyer.
Quigley was from Montreal and studied law at McGill while also practicing martial arts at the highest levels.
He had a kung fu gym in Old Montreal where he worked with West End Gang toughs Danny Neeson and Brian Forget, among others.
On one occasion Quigley found himself confronted by West End Gang hangaround Chuckie Mitchell.
Quigley, according to the still-cited yarn, managed to disarm Mitchell only to have Mitchell pull out a second gun, forcing Quigley to that weapon away too. Or something like that.
Quigley had old fashioned views about the secrecy of kung fu and opted against pursuing certain opportunities, as he believed doing so might violate the code of silence practiced within the martial art.
Quigley's area of law was outside of Quebec's Civil Code law, which led him to practice criminal law in Toronto. On at least one occasion he was given permission to work on a Quebec case, notably one involving a kidnapping involing the Griffin brothers of aforementioned West End Gang fame.
He died in December of a longstanding cancer.
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ReplyDeleteMichael Keith Quigley (died December 2022) was a Toronto-based criminal defence lawyer known for handling complex high-stakes cases involving organized crime, drug trafficking, and Charter of Rights applications.Key Legal Achievements and Cases. Quigley’s practice frequently involved challenging police conduct and prosecutorial actions to protect his clients' rights:Challenging Police Misconduct: In R. v. Abdel-Gadir (2015), he successfully argued to quash search warrants after proving an officer deliberately fabricated information. This led to the exclusion of seized firearms and drugs as evidence.Abuse of Process Claims: He was noted for identifying "abuse of process" by the Crown, such as in a 2018 domestic violence case where a mistrial was ordered after it was revealed the Crown failed to disclose the arrest of a material witness.Extradition and Cross-Border Law: He represented clients in high-profile extradition matters, including a case where he successfully sought the production of a U.S. indictment for a client facing international money laundering and drug charges.Organized Crime Defence: His work included defending individuals against serious allegations of organized crime affiliation and breach of trust.
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