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Legal But Unjust
Pubdate: Sat, 22 Oct 2005
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Copyright: 2005 Winnipeg Free Press
Contact: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
LEGAL BUT UNJUST
MANITOBA should be embarrassed that a provincial court judge was pressed
this week into personally making phone calls to find legal counsel for
Chinese immigrants charged in connection with a marijuana grow operation.
She then had to deny bail to most of the 28 accused, found sleeping in a
tiny house next to the rural pot farm. All but one cannot speak English and
they have no criminal records.
They are in custody largely because they are poor and they have no local
address.
Suspected as the hired hands in a large-scale criminal operation, the 25
men and three women were sleeping cheek to jowl in a little house on a pot
farm last week, when they were netted in a police raid. Then they were
dumped into the maw of a justice system clearly unequipped to protect their
basic rights. A scramble to find lawyers over the last week has produced
only 14. Two are on staff at Legal Aid, and both are representing five
accused each. A dearth of interpreters has frustrated the cases and court
proceedings further. They are sitting in the Remand Centre because they are
without a place to go and the bail money demanded to guarantee they'll show
up for trial. Some are Canadian citizens, but a landed immigrant is
accorded the same legal protections of citizens charged with cultivation
for the purpose of trafficking. The court room to date has been chaotic.
Yesterday, the court heard from civilians from the local Chinese community,
who, although not qualified as court certified interpreters, stepped in to
explain the circumstances of the accused.
Last year, after a protracted dispute with lawyers from the private bar,
Justice Minister Gord Mackintosh was advised to hire 10 more Legal Aid
staff lawyers. Mr. Mackintosh balked at the suggestion. The influx of 28
accused has toppled the system once again into madness.
Those who are presumed innocent may remain locked up for many weeks for
weak reasons.
Mr. Mackintosh passed legislation that, he said, explored "ways to deliver
quality services in light of the pressures facing the system." The
legislation allows one lawyer to represent more than one client.
And now 10 people are being represented by two lawyers, a trap that begs
unmanageable logistical and legal conflicts.
It is all legal and it bears little resemblance to justice.
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