Court Information
Date: January 4, 2013
Ontario Court of Justice
Her Majesty the Queen v. Leigh Latham
Proceedings
Before the Honourable Mr. Justice G.R. Wakefield
On Friday, January 4, 2013 at Oshawa, Ontario
Appearances
- G. Raven, Counsel for the Federal Crown
- K. Manitius, Counsel for L. Latham
Friday, January 4, 2013
Upon Resuming
MR. RAVEN: Yes Your Honour this is the matter of Leigh Latham. I believe there's one information before this Court. There's also another information that is before courtroom B-1 relating to more recent alleged offences. As Your Honour will recall, a plea of guilty was entered with respect to this matter I believe in October of last year. At that time (or it may have been before that) we received a notification, I believe in the original Pre-Sentence report that was prepared that caused Your Honour some concern in terms of requesting a further report particularly with respect to the Gladue factors given the recent jurisprudence underlining the importance once again of those factors when sentencing is considered.
I'm also in receipt as Your Honour and I believe Ms. Manitius is of correspondence from a Jonathan Rudin - R-U-D-I-N who is listed as the program director of the Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto, as well as correspondence that Your Honour responded to Mr. Alvin Swick of the probation office with respect to the dispute and the position that Aboriginal Legal Services was taking in not preparing a report.
I've considered the options in proceeding from today's date Your Honour and given all the circumstances I don't believe it is a situation where as I might seek the Courts direction and leave in other circumstances to order the authors of the letters to attend and explain in a more fulsome fashion why the order was not complied with. I have considered that option in all of the circumstances, and bearing in mind Ms. Latham's particular circumstances, I'm not going to ask that that be done Your Honour. What I would ask to be done is a Crown direction for a stay under Section 579(1) with respect to the information before the Court.
THE COURT: All right, you do have a copy of the letter of Debbie Spence on November 13th saying that they would prepare some sort of report including Gladue information, but...
MR. RAVEN: I do not have that letter actually Your Honour.
THE COURT: That was a response to my letter to Mr. Rudin et al, but bottom line is that there appears to be nothing here today.
MR. RAVEN: Yes it would seem so.
THE COURT: Or is there something here today?
CLERK OF THE COURT: I have a Pre-Sentence report...
MR. RAVEN: Is that the original that was prepared?
CLERK OF THE COURT: Sentence date of today's date.
MR. RAVEN: I believe we always had today's date set Your Honour be...
CLERK OF THE COURT: It says for today's date.
THE COURT: There should be a date over the signature on the last page Madam Clerk. See what that date is.
CLERK OF THE COURT: December 28, 2012.
THE COURT: So that will be post all of these letters.
MR. RAVEN: Yes.
THE COURT: I'm interceding here, I assume Ms. Manitius you're assisting Ms. Latham?
MS. MANITIUS: I am Your Honour.
THE COURT: And I'm snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory for your potentially right now. Is the Crown's position such that you would like to look at the Pre-Sentence report or given all of the other circumstances, the delay that's involved that you still wish to proceed the stay on these charges since it appears that you have other fish to fry in any event.
MR. RAVEN: I would still direct a stay in these specific circumstances Your Honour.
THE COURT: All right not opposed
MS. MANITIUS: Not opposed Your Honour.
THE COURT: This applies only to the matters on which I'm seized with?
MR. RAVEN: It does yes.
THE COURT: And Ms. Latham stand up for a moment. You have that quizzical look on your face. I don't blame you. I'll impose upon Ms. Manitius to explain what is happening here today, but on those matters, those charges that I'm seized with, they are all stayed at the request of the Crown. So it is a Crown stay or a judicial stay you're asking for?
MR. RAVEN: Crown stay Your Honour.
THE COURT: Crown stay by the Crown and Ms. Manitius will explain to you the ramifications of that and the possibility of re-opening down the road and that sort of thing. All right. That does not apply to the new charges that you're facing, but may have an impact on any bail proceedings as well. So you're still in custody on the new charges, but you do not have to come back and see me again on the original charges.
LEIGH LATHAM: All right.
THE COURT: All right good luck ma'am.
MS. MANITIUS: Thank Your Honour very much and I thank my friend for his position and his submissions on the matter.
MR. RAVEN: I believe Ms. Latham still needs to make an appearance in B1 court today.
MS. MANITIUS: That is correct.
THE COURT: Which would mean that I'm traversing the new information back down to B1 and obviously Ms. Latham will be kept here in the building until dealt with by that Court.