A man arrested at the Ottawa courthouse for impersonating a lawyer was released from custody without charge after police confirmed he was in fact a lawyer.

Lee Mullowney spent about three hours in police custody last Thursday after he attended as an observer at a bail hearing for a man he had represented once before.

Police spokesman Const. Alain Boucher said yesterday the file in the case indicated an allegation had been made that Mullowney had told a Crown lawyer on an earlier occasion he was acting for the same accused man and had improperly received disclosure.

HEARING ADJOURNED

The arrest occurred after the Crown applied unsuccessfully to have Mullowney excluded from the courtroom. The man having the bail hearing, which was ultimately adjourned, was being represented at the time by a different lawyer, Michel Bisson.

Bisson declined to comment on the incident.

Mullowney's lawyer, Delinda Hayton, said yesterday her client was released by police unconditionally after it was established he was a lawyer and that he had done nothing improper.

While she said she could not comment on the police's actions, she said she was able to verify last week after calling the Law Society of Upper Canada that Mullowney was a lawyer in good standing.

She said he is a commercial lawyer, but that sometimes lawyers who do not usually do criminal work will appear in criminal court.