The trial of of Chris Barber and Tamara Lich is over except for the verdict, which could take up to six months.
Trial for Freedom Convoy leaders Lich, Barber moves through closing arguments | CBC News | David Fraser:
August 14, 2024 - "Nearly one year after its start, the trial for two leaders of the Freedom Convoy entered closing arguments on Tuesday. Tamara Lich and Chris Barber are facing charges of mischief, intimidation, obstruction and other charges for their roles in the 2022 protests. The closely watched trial began Sept. 5 but has experienced a series of stops and starts. Crown prosecutors called 16 witnesses over 37 days of trial and presented hours of video evidence and reams of social media posts in an effort to prove their case....
"During closing arguments Tuesday, Crown prosecutors ... said the two were leaders of the protest and helped to finance, fuel and organize the mass of trucks that came into Ottawa's downtown core to protest against COVID-19 mandates.... Crown prosecutors said no other protesters who came to Ottawa during the three-week event had the same infrastructure as Lich and Barber. Barber, 48, and Lich, 50, ... were key voices in a group that had organized millions of dollars, a public relations operation, security, logistics and a formal corporation for the Freedom Convoy protest.... Both had large social media followings, and prosecutors say they used their influence online to turn the protest from a legal one to a criminal act....
"Backed by The Democracy Fund (TDF) and the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JFFC), Lich and Barber have enjoyed the support of right-wing and civil liberty organizations throughout their trial. The defence argues the two were acting within their rights and that the Crown has not met the bar to convict them....
"The judge overseeing the matter will have up to six months to deliver a verdict after closing submissions are concluded."
A "waste of time" says lawyer Ari Goldkind on Tamara Lich & Chris Barber trial | Bridge City News | August 22, 2024:
On the Train Back from the Convoy Trial | Trish Wood is Critical, Substack | Trish Wood:
August 15, 2024 - "What I saw in Courtroom Five in Ottawa this morning, before I hopped this train was overwhelmingly positive. Chris Barber’s lawyer Diane Magas did a great job of batting away the Crown’s case by showing how much he and Tamara had cooperated with police to keep roads clear and trucks moved, especially when asked by police to do so. Numerous texts showed a cordial, respectful and even friendly relationship and went far to impugn the Crown’s narrative yesterday that suggested the pair were conspiring to cripple the city.... Magas highlighted exculpatory evidence that I would personally vouch for as indicative of how Tamara and Chris were operating based on conversations I had with them. Her remarks involved mens rea - or lack of evidence for a guilty mindset and the texts were compelling.
"The Crown’s case which wrapped yesterday just seemed like endless tail chasing and in my humble opinion reflects badly on the entire system. But I haven’t been here for the whole trial and there are better people than me to opine. But right now, it feels like the old throwing spaghetti gambit to see what sticks.... Yesterday the Crown mentioned Zexi Li’s complaints about how her ability to work from home was badly affected by noise from the convoy. I am biased — but given what was at stake for the country, this feels oddly self-centred.... I’m sure it was difficult to live in Ottawa during the Convoy but I might argue that if the protestors hadn’t been mostly blue collar workers, residents’ views might have been friendlier and their tolerance higher. Li is part of a civil suit that will will continue the legal campaign regardless of this trial’s outcome....
"Judge Perkins-McVey is smart, brooks no nonsense and with humour and grace, sees right through some of the Crown’s downward dog-type cognitive stretching. And she is also tough on the defence, demanding clarifications and citations for her upcoming weeks or months of review before she makes a decision. As she should. Magas argued the tough requirement for meeting a mischief conviction, saying that the Supreme Court has found that the standard is formidable. Inference from circumstantial evidence must not be made.
"I spent a few minutes with Tamara and Chris and I can report they are worn down. Forty days of what was supposed to have been a ten day trial. Thirty thousand miles travelled by each from their homes out West to Ottawa. Massive legal costs and serious life disruptions for both families. Much worse than the litigious Ottawa residents endured. The sad irony here is that the fears that drove the protestors on — of vaccine mandates and harms, lockdown dangers and a fully divided country were all well-founded. In part of Canada they will always be heroes. What is scary is that the state and some Ottawa citizens will never see them that way."
Read more: https://trishwood.substack.com/p/on-the-train-back-from-the-convoy
No comments:
Post a Comment