(This
column was published in the North
Shore News on
July 15, 1998)
Mad and
getting madder
By Leo Knight
The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.
--Henry
VI, Act 4, Scene 2.
JUDGING
from the response to last week's depiction of the events
concerning the jailing of a police officer convicted of assault,
it would appear many of you are getting mad.
Good.
Now
here's a news flash. Those responsible for running the justice
system don't care what you think. You see, they inhabit a vastly
different world from the rest of us, the great unwashed without
the letters LLB behind our names.
Theirs
is a world of arguments, gently and politely held before other
lawyers all bent on protecting the rights of the individual and
the hell with the collective rights of society. All done with a
time clock working overtime.
Excuse
me?
You
see their world is driven by billable hours. The longer a case
is dragged out, the more hours they can bill.
It's
quite simple really.
If
they can find a reasonable Charter argument in a case -- and
they can and do in almost every case -- they can stretch a
simple shoplifting case into hours and hours of pure drivel. The
type of drivel that puts their kids through college and pays for
the yacht.
It's
virtually impossible to stop the drivel either.
If,
for example, the judge is blessed with common sense -- I know, I
know, it's a stretch, but just suppose -- the judge can only
rule on the argument presented, not on the merits of or the
motivations for presenting it. To do anything else would
guarantee an appealable point of law and the billing clock goes
positively manic.
The
Charter of Rights and Freedoms is, in itself, a noble document,
one whose ideals and values I cherish. The way the Charter has
been treated -- twisted, stretched, wrapped and contorted --
makes it virtually unrecognizable any more.
The
job of the police officer has been changed dramatically in the
past 15 or so years since the Charter has been around.
Take,
for example, the words a police officer must use now each time a
suspect is arrested.
It
used to be a cop had to tell the arrestee, "You are not
obliged to say anything, but anything you do say may be given in
evidence."
"You
have nothing to hope from any promise of favor and nothing to
fear from any threat. You have the right to retain and instruct
counsel without delay."
In
the intervening years since the Charter was enacted, the warning
has changed to the point where it is now almost a full page
long.
The
arresting officer has to take several breaths just to get
through it all while the bad guys eyes glaze over.
Are
you ready?
Here
it is straight from the booklet issued to all police officers in
the province from the attorney general's office.
"I
am arresting you for (state reason for arrest, including the
offence and provide known information about the offence
including date and place).
"It
is my duty to inform you that you have the right to retain and
instruct counsel in private without delay. You may call any
lawyer you want. There is a 24-hour telephone service available
which provides a legal aid duty lawyer who can give you legal
advice in private.
"This
advice is given without charge and the lawyer can explain the
legal aid plan to you.
"If
you wish to contact a legal aid duty lawyer I can provide you
with a telephone number.
"Do
you understand? Do you want to call a lawyer?"
(Notice
how many times the word lawyer or counsel is used by the
arresting officer? But it goes on ... )
"You
have the right to a reasonable opportunity to contact counsel. I
am obliged NOT to take a statement from you or to ask you to
participate in any process which could provide incriminating
evidence (say what?) until you are certain about whether you
want to exercise this right. Do you understand? What do you want
to do?"
(Pass
out from boredom probably. But it ain't over yet. After all that
the cop still has to take a statement, right?)
"You are detained with respect to (reason for arrest). If you have spoken to any police officer including myself, with respect to this matter, who has offered you any hope of advantage or suggested any fear of prejudice should you speak to me at this time, it is my duty to warn you that no such offer or suggestion can be of any effect and must not influence you or make you feel compelled to say anything to me for any reason, but anything you do say may be given in evidence."
Got
all that?
Any
guesses how likely it is after that mouthful to actually get a
confession?
All
to ensure the little dirtbag who stole your car isn't deprived
of any single right the Supreme Court and a host of other
appellate courts have decided he's entitled to.
Despite
all the platitudes mouthed by the attorney general, the premier,
the federal justice minister and a host of other politicos who
know best, everything is stacked against your rights and in
favor of the scumbag with your car, your TV or your stereo.
The
only thing standing in the way is the police. The thin blue
line.
Now
remember the cop who was sent to jail last week.
He
was convicted on the dubious word of some young nosepicker he
arrested breaking into a house.
The
thin blue line is now a lot thinner.
I'll
leave with his words, spoken to me the day after he was released
from jail, on bail, pending his appeal.
"I
haven't told my six-year-old son about this yet," said
Const. Real Vallee. "How do I explain to him where his
daddy has been for four days?"
How
indeed?
We
should all be angry. Bloody angry.
-30-