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| Norman Douglas |
Why we don’t know the details is because of the lame excuse offered by the police that they are “protecting the investigation.” Usually police hold back details from the public when they don’t know who the criminal is, and it helps them down the road in identifying him when he tells the police something that only the perpetrator would know.
So, because we aren’t told the circumstances, we hear from the lawyers, the pundits, the politicians — all expressing their views when all the facts aren’t known.
Of course, the public will be outraged when a homeowner is charged with assaulting the home invader. Of all cases, this one is when the police must explain why they did what they did.
Strike one against the police.
So what do they do? Chief Kirk Robertson issues a statement.
What he does say is telling and very troubling. Did you catch it?
1) “Investigators were able to examine all the information and evidence that was available prior to laying any charge.”
Especially in light of the fact that there was no rush to lay any charges in this case, that phrase “that was available” begs the question whether there was a thorough investigation at all. Perhaps before charging the homeowner, they could have taken a week or more to get all the evidence — and then consult with senior investigators, the Crown attorney, the regional Crown attorney, senior counsel in the attorney general’s office. Now, obviously this would not be expected of them in the vast majority of their investigations — but did they not consider this rare circumstance to be of significant public interest? What was the hurry?
Strike two against the police.
2) The Kawartha police statement “stressed that under Canadian law, charges are part of a process and not proof of guilt.”
Read that again. Does it not boggle your mind? A defence lawyer was quoted as saying, “This is a very difficult analysis that (police) have to do. They may have got it wrong in the circumstances, but that’s what trials are for.”
Wait a full second — what I am hearing is that it’s nothing to get upset about if, in difficult scenarios, the police are wrong in charging someone with a crime, because what really counts is the trial — and then the judge can fix it.
I can forgive a defence lawyer for having that attitude — it’s money in the bank if the police screw up.
But a police officer, excusing their decision while answering the public backlash, that it’s just part of a process — and they’re not saying the accused is guilty — that’s up to the courts. Why am I thinking of Pontius Pilate?
Strike three.
Being charged with a criminal offence has its own devastation.
Keep in mind that if you are charged, and you are not prepared to wilt under all the pressure to plead guilty (I will get to that in a minute), your trial may be a year or more away — especially if there is a preliminary hearing or adjournments which are all too common.
And all that time — you are “on bail” and your life is on hold. That is, if you are qualified to be on bail and not held in a jail cell until your trial is reached.
Most accused people in Canada are free before their trial, but it is not complete freedom. There are sometimes restrictions like regular reporting to the police, travel bans, etc., and “being of good behaviour” (in nearly 50 years in the criminal justice system I never really knew exactly what that required).
But the real burden is the stigma. Easy for the police and lawyers to say, no big deal, we are not saying you are guilty — being charged is just part of a process.
They don’t have to face your neighbours, co-workers, hopefully not loved ones, who are now looking at you differently.
Now let’s peek at that process.
You are charged. You are presumed innocent and maybe you really are. But you may have already been convicted in many peoples’ eyes.
You have to retain a lawyer. They don’t come cheap, and you didn’t have this $10,000 retainer in your budget. By the way — every text, email, phone call and visit may cost you hundreds of dollars an hour (or part thereof).
You go through several court appearances before a date is set for your trial.
You have no guarantees about the result. Judges are people. As in any profession, there are good ones, not-so-good ones, inexperienced ones, very old ones, etc.
So your lawyer and the prosecutor have meetings (you pay for those too). There is a “pre-trial” where the lawyers are expected by the judges to narrow the issues and try to resolve the case before precious trial time is wasted.
Here is where the pressure comes. If you plead guilty — no more waiting — you get it off your back and get on with your life. And a guilty plea gets you the best result you could hope for, probably probation or house arrest for a while, but no jail. You can keep your job (unless you get fired now that you have a record). But if you insist you are not guilty and want a trial — you risk a judge not willing to grant you any leniency and sending you to jail.
Tough call — but, according to the Kawartha Police spokesperson (hopefully there are good police officers there who don’t feel this way), it’s “all part of the process.”
So yes, Premier Ford — something is broken here. Yes, all you good Lindsay, Ont. homeowners — you should be shocked at your police service for the way they have handled this important case.
But my concern is with the attitude of some police officers and defence lawyers, that being charged is not proof of guilt, so what’s the harm?
Norman Douglas is a retired criminal court judge with 27.5 years of experience on the bench. His book, You Be the Judge, was published in December 2023.
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