A Whitehorse man who claims he was beaten up by two RCMP officers in the Whitehorse jail in May 2003 faced another disappointment in court Friday.

Visiting Yukon Supreme Court Justice Randall Wong dismissed an application by Arthur Joe to have the time limitations waived on his civil suit against the officers who allegedly beat him.

Joe filed the damages suit more than four years after his arrest and alleged abuse.

In his arguments Friday, Joe's lawyer, Andre Roothman, called on the Limitations of Actions Act which gives two instances wherein a person may bring forward a charge more than two years after the incident in question.

Those are sexual misconduct, which does not apply in this case, and mental disorder.

Before making his argument that Joe's severe alcoholism constitutes a mental disorder, Roothman admitted he was "grasping at straws.

"But I must do whatever I can in this case ... it is the only possibility for Arthur Joe to get some justice," Roothman said.

But the judge would not accept that Joe was incapacitated by his addiction.

Wong pointed to the fact that since the incident, and within the two-year time limit, Joe was capable enough to launch a private prosecution on behalf of his deceased partner, who died in police custody; to consult several lawyers throughout the Yukon and British Columbia, at least one of whom advised him of the time limit on a civil suit; and to file a complaint against the two officers with the RCMP Public Complaints Commission.

Furthermore, Wong said, he would at least need to see some sort of psychiatric assessment to support the claim of mental disorder.

Joe's last chance now is to take his case to the Federal Court, where a judicial review would decide if the case should be reopened.

Roothman told the Star today that in order for that to happen, Joe will have to find financial support, possibly from the Council of Yukon First Nations.