Territorial court Judge Donovan Molloy scolded Crown and defence lawyers Wednesday for a joint submission he found to be unfit, but not so unfit that it would bring the administration of justice into disrepute SA国际影视传媒� the threshold, outlined in R. v Anthony-Cook, for a judge to overturn lawyersSA国际影视传媒� joint positions.
For his fourth conviction of intimate partner violence, Crown prosecutor Matthew Scott and defence lawyer Peter Harte proposed the offender be sentenced to 135 days in jail SA国际影视传媒� 90 days for the assault, 30 days for having breached probation and another 15 days for breach of bail conditions. Considering the time the man has already spent in custody, he has approximately 50 days left to serve before 18 months of probation.
SA国际影视传媒淚 sentenced him in June for assaulting the same victim,SA国际影视传媒� Molloy decried. SA国际影视传媒淣ow I have another Crown with a completely unfit sentence but not so unfit to violate the threshold of Anthony-Cook and so ISA国际影视传媒檓 forced to accept.SA国际影视传媒�
SA国际影视传媒淥ne of these days when a victim is killed by one of these repeat offenders, the questions arenSA国际影视传媒檛 going to be to the court, theySA国际影视传媒檙e going to be about the (public prosecution)SA国际影视传媒檚 position.SA国际影视传媒�
Though Molloy said it wouldnSA国际影视传媒檛 matter since heSA国际影视传媒檚 forced to accept the joint submission anyways, he told Scott to carry on with his rationale for arriving at the sentencing decision since SA国际影视传媒測ouSA国际影视传媒檙e accountable to the public,SA国际影视传媒� he said.
Scott noted the manSA国际影视传媒檚 guilty plea, his background as an Indigenous man and the victimSA国际影视传媒檚 lack of serious injuries as contributing factors to the 135 day sentence.
SA国际影视传媒淪o youSA国际影视传媒檙e saying he really has to hurt her before he gets a longer sentence,SA国际影视传媒� Molloy asked, regarding the comment about the victimSA国际影视传媒檚 injuries.
SA国际影视传媒淣o, ISA国际影视传媒檓 saying we sentence for the offence committed,SA国际影视传媒� Scott replied.
Molloy acknowledged the offendersSA国际影视传媒� traumas and the colonial context that contributed to bringing him before the court, but noted that the victim in this case, like many others that come before the court, is also an Indigenous woman who has herself faced serious trauma.
SA国际影视传媒淲e place all the emphasis on the accused when these women experience the same trauma, continual trauma and it builds each time these offences occur,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淲hat does this say to those victims.SA国际影视传媒�
In his submissions, Harte agreed with Molloy that the issue is persistent, but noted the NWTSA国际影视传媒檚 high incarceration rates SA国际影视传媒� 527 adults per population of 100,000 according to a 2017-18 Statistics Canada report. The same reports indicates the national average to be 83 adults/100,000 people.
Longer jail sentences are not fixing the problem, he said.
Harte spoke about the need for balance in delivering a fit sentence, recalling his time practicing in Nunavut and hearing complainants say they would never go to the police again because of what happened to their partner.
He told SA国际影视传媒 that the NWT SA国际影视传媒渋s one of the most difficult environments to prosecute domestic violence.SA国际影视传媒�
SA国际影视传媒淚t is frustrating for the police who investigate crime connected to the same dysfunctional relationship again and again , it is frustrating for the Crowns who worry that they may not go hard enough on an accused and that someone might get seriously injured or killed as a result.SA国际影视传媒�
It is frustrating too to consider the possibility of a complainant never cooperating again as a result of the proceedings and ending up killed or seriously injured from a repeat offence.
SA国际影视传媒淚t is a no-win situation with no easy answers, but for the system to work at all, when the Crown is in a position to get at least some sort of penalty, deals have to be respected or accused will take everything to trial and the system will break down,SA国际影视传媒� Harte said.
SA国际影视传媒淲e already have one of the highest incarceration rates in Canada, how exactly will putting more people in jail make a difference?SA国际影视传媒�
