Editorial
Hats off to a Vernon judge who refused to accept a plea bargain for a man who criminally harassed his ex-wife for nearly five months.
It’s uncommon for a judge to reject a joint submission from the defence and the Crown, who in this case agreed on a conditional sentence (house arrest) with no electronic monitoring. (One wonders what kind of message this would send to other men who treat their partners as chattels.)
The court heard how the accused sent his ex-wife “thousands” of emails and attempted to stop her from leaving a public parking lot.
The man subsequently pleaded guilty, which paved the way for a plea deal, however, the judge didn’t buy into this cookie-cutter settlement that is so often used to save time and money.
The judge expressed his worry about the safety of the victim and the support of women in similar cases. In the end, it was agreed to order an electronic monitoring report for the accused.
In another recent case, a Kelowna judge flatly rejected a defence lawyer’s suggestion that a conditional sentence was fitting for his client who assaulted his girlfriend on a weekly basis. Fitting? That’s outright offensive to all victims of assault. Instead, the judge sentenced the man to four years in jail. Now, that’s fitting.
These judges deserve recognition for standing up for victims’ rights and maintaining deterrence in a system that is continually losing trust.
Although plea bargaining is a common method used in the courtroom, many people see it as circumventing the legal system and its standards. A secret practice among lawyers to reach desired settlements in the best interest of the court?
While plea deals may seem unfair in undermining the system, the law must be careful to avoid situations where an accused who is truly innocent is persuaded or pressured to plead guilty out of convenience or expense. It’s a compromise that some lawyers are willing to make.
It’s really a complex game in the courtroom where many factors come into play, many of which are never seen or understood by the public. One can learn a great deal about the law, for good or bad, by sitting in on a case and listening to the arguments presented. But be prepared: justice is not swift; the wheels turn very slowly and you may not like where they stop.
The bottom line is that people are held accountable for their actions in a system where deterrence means something and one’s rights don’t supersede another’s. To this end, plea bargaining does not fit the equation.
Lyonel Doherty, editor
