Accused defending herself alone in court: Quebec plans to put pressure on Ottawa

Québec plans to put Ottawa pressure to reform the criminal justice system, after the public exit of a bereaved father who wants to prevent accused like the one who killed his daughter being able to defend themselves in court. But such changes promise to be difficult, even impossible, according to lawyers.

Criminal law and criminal procedure fall under the jurisdiction of […] federal. Despite this, we will intervene with our federal counterpart to make it aware of this problem and encourage it to make changes in the criminal justice systemsaid by email the cabinet of the Quebec Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, expressing his solidarity with the family of Romane Bonnier.

His team has declined our request for an interview to clarify their intentions.

Last month, François Pelletier was found guilty of the premeditated murder of Romane Bonnier, eco -friendly of life prison without possible liberation before 25 years. The murderer had chosen to defend himself, using his gallery to support the abracabrant and esoteric explanations in long disjointed monologues.

This trial was a real torture For the relatives of Romane, supports his father Guy Bonnier. Last week, he addressed the media to denounce the fact that a man like François Pelletier was allowed to ensure his own defense.

What does Ottawa think? It was not possible to speak with the Minister of Justice, Sean Fraser. In writing, his ministry specifies that he cannot comment on a particular case, but recalls that the right for an accused of representing himself is protected by the Constitution and confirmed by case law.

A system at renovate

Joined by Radio-Canada, Romane’s father was delighted with Quebec’s desire to put pressure on Ottawa.

Our whole system is to be renovated, and it’s normal: we have been judging people for 700 years.

The latter once again calls for decision-makers to be inspired by France, where the accused of murder cannot represent themselves. A lawyer is committed to them automatically by the Court.

Otherwise, accused is allowed to waste precious time at the court, cluttering the justice system and wasteing public money, said Mr. Bonnier. He underlines that the trial for the murder of his daughter is not an isolated case, notably by evoking that of Levana Ballouz (formerly Mohamad al Ballouz), guilty of having killed his spouse and his two children, who also assured his own defense.

However, starting this small revolution in the judicial system is far from being an easy task. In Canada, being represented by a lawyer is not an obligation. And if the person chooses not to have a lawyer, it is also a right which belongs to him, recalls the lawyer-criminalist Walid Hijazi.

Although he is one of those who believe that we should not encourage An accused to defend himself, the lawyer finds it difficult to see the law could be modified in order to impose on an accused, against his will, a lawyer whom he did not choose or in whom he does not trust.

An opinion shared by Karine Mulaire, professor of law at the University of Montreal. The Supreme Court has never clearly said that it was a constitutional right, except that there are other courts that recognized it, explains the specialist. And quite clearly, the courts see it as a fundamental principle of criminal law. I would hardly see how we could deviate from our justice system.

A power in the hands of judges

I think we mix two things. The fact that the accused represents himself alone is not a problem in itself. What we have the most as a problem is the equivalent of what are called quarrants, people who abuse their right to defend themselves by lifting any eccentric means or pleading things that have absolutely no sensenotes Simon Roy, professor of criminal law at the University of Sherbrooke.

Faced with accused who try to shoot their stuffing trials, the solution is very simpleresumes the lawyer.

The judge must put his pants and say: “Look, you have the right to a defense, but this defense does not include the right to waste time in court.”

The judges also have the power to appoint a lawyer to assist the accused – called a courtyard -And, in some cases, to appoint one to make the counter-examination of a victim or a witness in his place.

During the trial of François Pelletier, the magistrate often reminded him of order so that he refocused on the facts, raising the tone on numerous occasions.

But does a judge who cut the floor to an accused during his defense does not be exposed to reasons of appeal? Yes, replies Mr. Roy, but it is also The duty of the courts of appeal to be more flexible.