Pubdate: Fri, 11 Feb 2005
Source: Daily Courier, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 The Okanagan Valley Group of Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/531
Author: Don Plant
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

LOCAL JUDGE SENDS CRITICS A MESSAGE

If Judge Wilf Klinger Were Permitted To Write A Letter To The Editor 
Explaining Why Judges Impose The Sentences They Do, He Probably Would

Instead, the veteran provincial court judge did the next best thing -- he 
asked administrative Judge Nancy Phillips to invite local news reporters to 
attend the sentencing of Adam John Teleske at the Kelowna Law Courts on 
Thursday. Teleske was convicted of producing 300 marijuana plants in the 
basement of his rented home in 2003. He used an electrical bypass to power 
the growing equipment needed to cultivate the indoor grow-op. The charge 
has become so commonplace in the Central Okanagan, the offence barely 
registers as news anymore. But Klinger wanted to make sure the media heard 
- -- and delivered -his message. In making his 40-minute decision, the judge 
outlined the range of punishments available to lower-court judges in 
grow-op cases, as directed by the B.C. Court of Appeal

After a thorough review of those cases, Klinger concluded the best sanction 
for Teleske, a 23-year-old, first-time offender, was the same conditional 
sentence suggested jointly by the Crown and defence -- one year of house 
arrest. "If there is a pattern to be discerned, it is that trial judges who 
deal with the flood of grow operations tend to the opinion that conditional 
sentences for grow operations do not adequately address denunciation and 
deterrence ... but the Court of Appeal consistently disagrees," he said

"I must conclude that the joint submission is neither contrary to the 
public interest nor is it unfit." Klinger said grow-ops have become 
"notoriously common" in the Okanagan and elsewhere in the province. He 
referred to the dangers of growing marijuana indoors, especially electrical 
bypasses and the hazards they pose for firefighters and police. He said 
"rip offs" of grow operations are adding more criminal activity to what is 
already unlawful

Yet judges are bound by the range of sentencing imposed by the Court of 
Appeal -- a range that is still unclear to provincial court judges, he said.

In one case involving a first-time grower of marijuana plants, the appeals 
court found a one-year jail term was a fit sentence, yet a conditional 
sentence of two years less a day was unfit.

"One is left to ask, given the Court of Appeal's reluctance to set the 
range, how should a trial court determine the appropriate range?"

Klinger said. "Hopefully, subsequent Court of Appeal decisions would 
provide clarity."

His remarks follow criticisms from B.C. Solicitor General Rich Coleman and 
Kelowna RCMP Supt. Bill McKinnon that judges are imposing sentences that 
are too lenient and sending the wrong message to criminals.

"I suspect (Klinger's sentence) is a reaction to the recent public outcry 
from the solicitor general and the local superintendent of the RCMP, to 
verify the rule of law prevails and judicial independence prevails," said 
Michael Kennedy, Teleske's lawyer.

"He has concluded his judicial function is best served by imposing this 
conditional sentence."

Local lawyers have never heard of a judge alerting members of the press to 
attend a specific case.

In effect, Klinger's message was that judges are not living in a glass 
bubble and they understand the community's concerns. Ultimately, however, 
they are bound by the rule of law.

Teleske must live at his Burnaby home around the clock for a year unless he 
attends work, shopping, exercise or other appointments approved by his 
supervisor. He's barred from drinking alcohol or entering liquor 
establishments, and he's prohibited from possessing weapons for 10 years.

For his part, Teleske was "very affected" by the sentencing, said Kennedy.

"He's never had his liberty restricted. To him, it's a severe sentence. He 
was truly scared in there."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom