Lyle Howe squares off with lawyer Perry Borden at disciplinary hearing

The N-word landed with a resounding thud Monday at the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society disciplinary hearing for suspended Halifax defence lawyer Lyle Howe.

It came in a heated exchange between Howe and a witness, Crown prosecutor Perry Borden. Howe described Borden's presence in the Dartmouth prosecutors' office as being "so quiet he was almost nonexistent."

Borden, who is black, took exception to Howe's characterization.

Borden said Howe's comment made Borden appear to be the "house n--ger" of the Public Prosecution Service. Borden told the disciplinary hearing on Monday that he felt Howe was being disrespectful with his comment.

Howe became visibly upset during the exchange as he tried to pursue his line of questioning. Both panel chair Ron MacDonald and Howe's co-counsel Jeanne Sumbu intervened.

Hearing drags on

Howe's hearing before a barristers' society panel resumed Monday morning.

The society accuses Howe of professional misconduct and professional incompetence. A hearing into his conduct began late last year and has sat for several days off and on ever since.

The CBC's Blair Rhodeslive bloggedfrom the hearing.

Most important and poignant testimony, says Howe

Borden had a prior court commitment in the afternoon, so the panel running the hearing agreed to adjourn further questioning of him until later this week.

Howe described Borden's comments as the most important and poignant testimony to come out of the hearing so far.

Howe said it speaks to his central theme that he is the victim of systemic racism and is being singled out because he is black.

The hearing is scheduled to run for four days this week with additional sittings scheduled for November.

The three-member panel hearing the case against Howe has said it wants to conclude thehearing by the end of the year.

Crown tried to warn Howe

Following Borden's testimony, the panel heard from another Crown prosecutor,Alonzo Wright.

Wright saidhe first became aware of Howe when he attended an awards ceremony at Dalhousie University's law school. Howe was being recognized as an outstanding student.

Wright said he was asked to mentor Howe but the two could never arrange a time to meet.

Wright told the hearing that early in Howe's career, he and another Crown met with Howe to discuss concerns being expressed about Howe's practice. Wright said he was trying to warn Howe about the pitfalls of being a defence lawyer, including being over-extended.

Wright, who is black,said he has experienced racism in his life, dating back to his time in public school and extending into the practice of law. Wright said he prosecutes cases across the province and is frequently the only black man in the courtroom and often in the community.

The panel is scheduled to sit for three more days this week.