Raise questions about our national sovereignty
JORDANA HUBER, Canwest News
The prosecution of two aboriginal men in the United States on similar criminal charges to ones they have already served jail time for in Ontario is a "slap in the face" to Canada, the former head of the Ontario Bar Association said.
Trevor Miller, 32, and Albert Douglas, 32, of Six Nations in Ontario, face allegations they assaulted three U.S. law enforcement agents and stole their government-owned SUV during a confrontation in Caledonia, Ont., in the summer of 2006.
While the U.S. may have the authority to prosecute the pair, there are sovereignty issues at stake for Canada, said James Morton, a law professor who is past president of the OBA.
"We are talking about a violent offence that took place entirely within Canada that they have already been tried and convicted for," Morton argued. "For the Americans to now go ahead and prosecute on the same fact pattern sort of suggests the Canadian system doesn't count.
"It may be legal, but I think it is inappropriate," he added.
Miller pleaded guilty in Ontario last year to theft and assault charges in connection with the incident.
He spent more than six months in jail before being sentenced to time served, but was arrested by U.S. authorities last month while crossing the border into Minnesota.
Douglas pleaded guilty in March to robbery, assault, and dangerous driving. A charge of attempted murder was withdrawn, a spokesperson for Ontario's attorney-general said.
He was granted a conditional sentence and one-year probation after serving six months in pre-trial custody.
If convicted in the United States, the men could face a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison for each assault count, 10 years for theft and a fine of $250,000, according to the United States Department of Justice.
Miller's public defender, Timothy Hoover, said he will move that the case be dismissed because of jurisdictional issues and questions surrounding the official duties of the agents while in Canada.
"We aren't saying the U.S. courts never have jurisdiction over events in another country, just that the requirements aren't met here," Hoover explained. "There are serious legal and sovereignty concerns about why this is happening. They were prosecuted and convicted already and they shouldn't be prosecuted again for the same thing."
James Harrington, a criminal lawyer and past president of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense lawyers said there is legal precedent to try the accused though he said the prosecution must prove the officers were acting in an official capacity at the time of the incident.
Still, he said the case raise questions about "fundamental fairness."
"I think the motivation here may be that they are upset the Canadians didn't punish this guy the way they wanted him punished and they are going to now seek to impose U.S. law," Harrington mused. "If I were a Canadian I would be upset about it."
According to a criminal complaint sworn by U.S. Border Patrol Agent Philip Knapp, the U.S. law enforcement officers were on official duty in Canada and were being escorted on a "tour" by an Ontario Provincial Police detective for the "purposes of observing" the Six Nations reserve.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
1 comment:
This completely concur that this indeed represents an affront to our sovereignty. Can you IMAGINE the same thing occurring if Canada were to take such action against American citizens? Of course you can't, it simply wouldn't happen..
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