Charges dropped against provincial judge!
Good Day Readers:
Spent the morning in courtroom 308 Judge Kelly Moar presiding. Was primarily there to follow the case of Judge (provincial) Brian M. Corrin who you may recall was charged this February with assault and uttering a threat against the person of Celia Corrin. The relationship was never revealed.
Toronto Crown Prosecutor Paul McDermott briefly testified he had thoroughly and independently reviewed the evidence (there was never any interference from Manitoba Justice) and decided the liklihood of a successful prosecution was unsustainable. He did, however, mention something interesting which was he had encountered conflicting forensic evidence but did not elaborate nor was he questioned by Judge Moar. The charges were stayed and poof it was over in under a couple minutes or less.
Sitting a few seats from us was a well-dressed gentleman who resembled Mr. Corrin. Upon hearing the decision he appeared pleased, acknowledged the judge (nodded) and immediately left. We assume Judge Corrin will now return to the Bench. Brian Corrin was represented by Winnipeg lawyer Richard Wolson.
There were also the usual impaireds but another case which was somewhat troubling. It involved an older, grey haired little lady who could have passed for your grandmother. She was unable to afford a solicitor so self-represented. According to the Crown, she is facing two counts of criminal harassment and a third for breach of a peace bond. At times she became somewhat emotional. The judge set a Case Management Conference (Pre-Trial) for next week. To his credit on several occasions he urged her to try to find a lawyer.
Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, along with many others within the legal community, have been expressing concern over the increasing number who cannot afford legal representation especially as Legal Aid is being cut back in many if not all the provinces.
We're sending a copy of this posting to Winnipeg Free Press court reporter Mike McIntyre who has always been very good in the past about returning our telephone calls.
Just checked the WFP, Winnipeg Sun and CBC Manitoba sites which have yet to run this story. Like us they too were likely not expecting such a speedy end to the charges. It's not every day we get to scoop the mainstream media. You'll have to excuse us while we quietly go off to a corner to gloat ..... "gloat" ..... "gloat" ..... "gloat" .....
Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk
Mike.McIntyre@freepress.mb.ca
Postscript
A special thank you to the provincial court employee who got out a thick legal text to explain the difference between an "indictment" versus a "hybrid" charge terms we'd encountered earlier in the courtroom.
She was also quite helpful answering our question regarding CPIC (Canadian Police Information Centre - a national data bank) which we'd encountered while looking over Judge Corrin's file earlier - knew the meaning of the acronym but required the process be explained. Had Brian Corrin been convicted his name would then be placed in CPIC. When we found it stamped on a police form it simply indicated the information contained thereon has being held in abeyance pending outcome of the charges.
Spent the morning in courtroom 308 Judge Kelly Moar presiding. Was primarily there to follow the case of Judge (provincial) Brian M. Corrin who you may recall was charged this February with assault and uttering a threat against the person of Celia Corrin. The relationship was never revealed.
Toronto Crown Prosecutor Paul McDermott briefly testified he had thoroughly and independently reviewed the evidence (there was never any interference from Manitoba Justice) and decided the liklihood of a successful prosecution was unsustainable. He did, however, mention something interesting which was he had encountered conflicting forensic evidence but did not elaborate nor was he questioned by Judge Moar. The charges were stayed and poof it was over in under a couple minutes or less.Sitting a few seats from us was a well-dressed gentleman who resembled Mr. Corrin. Upon hearing the decision he appeared pleased, acknowledged the judge (nodded) and immediately left. We assume Judge Corrin will now return to the Bench. Brian Corrin was represented by Winnipeg lawyer Richard Wolson.
There were also the usual impaireds but another case which was somewhat troubling. It involved an older, grey haired little lady who could have passed for your grandmother. She was unable to afford a solicitor so self-represented. According to the Crown, she is facing two counts of criminal harassment and a third for breach of a peace bond. At times she became somewhat emotional. The judge set a Case Management Conference (Pre-Trial) for next week. To his credit on several occasions he urged her to try to find a lawyer.
Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, along with many others within the legal community, have been expressing concern over the increasing number who cannot afford legal representation especially as Legal Aid is being cut back in many if not all the provinces.
We're sending a copy of this posting to Winnipeg Free Press court reporter Mike McIntyre who has always been very good in the past about returning our telephone calls.
Just checked the WFP, Winnipeg Sun and CBC Manitoba sites which have yet to run this story. Like us they too were likely not expecting such a speedy end to the charges. It's not every day we get to scoop the mainstream media. You'll have to excuse us while we quietly go off to a corner to gloat ..... "gloat" ..... "gloat" ..... "gloat" .....Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk
Mike.McIntyre@freepress.mb.ca
Postscript
A special thank you to the provincial court employee who got out a thick legal text to explain the difference between an "indictment" versus a "hybrid" charge terms we'd encountered earlier in the courtroom.
She was also quite helpful answering our question regarding CPIC (Canadian Police Information Centre - a national data bank) which we'd encountered while looking over Judge Corrin's file earlier - knew the meaning of the acronym but required the process be explained. Had Brian Corrin been convicted his name would then be placed in CPIC. When we found it stamped on a police form it simply indicated the information contained thereon has being held in abeyance pending outcome of the charges.
posted by Clare L. Pieuk at 11:26 AM
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