>>
>> In a unanimous decision, the British Columbia Court of Appeal on
>> Tuesday said there was no reason to impugn a rookie ruling by Justice
>> Peter Leask because his injudicious comments did not constitute an
>> error in law.
>>
>> Even if Justice Leask did not consider a piece of evidence because he
>> forgot it or because he did not consider it relevant, while troubling,
>> that would be much too thin a thread on which to set aside an
>> acquittal and order a new trial, the judges concluded.
>>
>> (Greg-Too bad.)
>>
>> That means Parliament did not give the federal attorney-general the
>> power to appeal an unreasonable verdict just because the judge was
>> stupid.
>>
>> The unanimous decision -- signed by Justices Pamela Kirkpatrick,
>> Kenneth Mackenzie and Carol Huddard -- is a heavy blow to prosecutors
>> and police who touted this bust as a serious broadside on the
>> notorious motorcycle club whose members are regularly accused but
>> rarely convicted of organized criminal activity.
>>
>> (Greg-There have been a lot more convictions the last few yrs and even
>> the Nanaimo clubhouse was seized. Various ppl are facing charges still
>> and a lot of the lower ranking ppl are getting busted.)
>>
>> Prosecutors believe B.C. Supreme Court Justice Leask went out of his
>> way in March 2007 to rely on conjecture and speculation to find a
>> reasonable doubt in the Crown's case.
>>
>> They were angry that the long-time liberal defence lawyer -- elevated
>> to the bench in November, 2005 -- scrutinized a police expert witness
>> during his cross-examination and was verbally dismissive of the
>> prosecution case.
>>
>> In an attempt to embarrass Justice Leask, someone sympathetic to the
>> prosecution alerted the media to his pointed and at times profane
>> comments.
>>
>> As a result, the justice was subsequently pilloried and shamed into
>> holding an extraordinary hearing in which he abjectly apologized for
>> his rude language.
>>
>> (Greg-One would expect a Judge to apologize the next day after calming
>> down. Thanks to the Vancouver Province for printing comments from
>> citizens present at the verdict who were appalled. I and others
>> officially notified the judicial ppl who oversee such things and it is
>> too bad he wasn't fired.)
>>
>> But the Crown wanted his decision reversed, arguing that the appeal
>> court must make an exception in this case and order a new trial.
>>
>> (Greg-Maybe appeal this to the Supreme Court.)
>>
>> The appellate panel disagreed: "We are not persuaded the trial judge
>> fell into that or any other error of principle that would permit this
>> Court to direct a new trial."
>>
>> Evidence showed Glen Jonathan Hehn, 30, rented a Surrey storage locker
>> from December 2002 until July 31, 2003.
>>
>> He testified that he allowed a number of people to use the locker.
>>
>> In June 2003, Hehn said he gave an acquaintance, Ewan Lilford, a key
>> to the locker and the pass code to the facility. On July 21, the
>> 29-year-old arrived at Hehn's White Rock home and they traveled to the
>> storage locker.
>>
>> Hehn retrieved a dog kennel and two kids' lifejackets and put them in
>> the back of his pickup truck. Lilford got two boxes and put them in
>> the truck and they drove away.
>>
>> Police, who had been tailing Lilford, pulled the duo over.
>>
>> They found a cardboard box with 22 one-kg packages of cocaine and a
>> bright blue box with nine one-kg bricks of cocaine in the back of the
>> truck.
>>
>> When police searched the storage locker, they found a nylon
>> hockey-type bag with 19 one-kg bricks of cocaine and a shoebox with
>> two one-kg packages of powdered cocaine.
>>
>> Expert evidence suggested the drugs, stamped with the Coca-Cola
>> trademark emblem, had a value of about $1.56 million wholesale.
>>
>> (Greg-Of course the Coca-Cola emblem is red and white just like the HA
>> nick of red and white. You think this wasn't HAMC certified cocaine?
>> Leask is a disgrace to the judiciary.)
>>
>> Hehn said he did not know Lilford was trafficking or that he had
>> cocaine in the locker and in the back of the truck.
>>
>> He said that when they arrived at the locker, Lilford used the key he
>> had been given to open the locker.
>>
>> Asked if he gave Lilford permission to store cocaine in the locker,
>> Hehn replied: "Most certainly not."
>>
>> Police disputed Hehn's version of events and emphasized that they
>> found no key on Lilford when they searched him -- but Hehn had one.
>>
>> They urged Justice Leask to reject Hehn's explanation as incredible,
>> beyond belief and incapable of raising a reasonable doubt.
>>
>> (Greg-Lilford was an American and this was the time for him to pick up
>> the cocaine from Hehn since he was in town for a HA event.)
>>
>> Staff Sergeant Richard Marsh, an RCMP officer with 18 years experience
>> in drug investigations, testified no one with possession of such a
>> valuable illicit commodity would be leave it under someone else's
>> control.
>>
>> Leask, however, found Hehn's excuse consistent, his explanation
>> reasonable and his testimony unshakable.
>>
>> "First, I found Mr. Hehn to be a good witness," he said.
>>
>> "His manner was straightforward and crisp. His answers were clear.
>>
>> (Greg-Mr.Hehn can speak English just fine even in a volatile street
>> situation so I am not surprised he presented himself well for the
>> judge.)
>>
>> "I am not prepared to reject Mr. Hehn's evidence on the basis that it
>> is inconsistent with the [police] opinion about what a hypothetical
>> trafficker would probably do."
>>
>> The Crown insisted that the cocaine was so valuable, Hehn's story flew
>> in the face of common sense.
>>
>> But the panel said the assessment of evidence is "uniquely within the
>> purview of a trial judge."
>>
>> "As to the complaint about relevance or speculation during
>> submissions, the focus of an appeal cannot be on a colloquy during
>> submissions between the court and counsel, for the reason that judges
>> often put forward a proposition to test counsel's theory of the case,
>> or to suggest an alternative theory," the justices wrote.
>>
>> "Misapprehension of evidence may and frequently does constitute a
>> miscarriage of justice and thus give rise to an order for a new trial
>> when resulting errors of fact result in a conviction.
>>
>> However, improper treatment of evidence constitutes an error of law
>> only when there is a failure to consider relevant evidence or legal
>> misdirection."
>>
>> I think it's also important to remember that Lilford pleaded guilty
>> and was sentenced to 16 years. This isn't a crime that is going
>> unpunished.
>>
>> (Greg-True enough and he will serve it in a US prison. Congrats to the
>> two RCMP officers who made this bust as it was apparently done on
>> instinct. Keep trying and better luck next time.)
>>
>> imulgrew@
png.canwest.com
>>
>> © The Vancouver Sun 2008
>>
>> HA
>> is involved with
>> extortion, homicide, kidnapping, prostitution, meth and cocaine
>> dealing, rape, armed robbery and motorcycle theft and child
>> pornography
>> as well as phony currency and witness intimidation and obstruction of
>> justice. They have been known to bribe and scare law enforcement
>> officers and judges into doing their bidding. These ppl must be
>> rooted
>> out of the Cdn justice system. Two judges have actually done their
>> job
>> and declared HAMC a criminal org and the Victoria Times-Colonist is
>> calling for it to be banned as a terrorist org.
>> "The Hells Angels should be treated as a domestic terror organization.
>> We should encourage those who make and enforce our laws in their
>> efforts to eradicate them."
>>
>and, as it were, went into Desuetude. ...
>Hebrew-Gregorian calendar in both Hebrew and English lettering.
>(Firestone) on King George Hwy which has since gone out of business. A man
>who claimed to be a tow truck driver named Jerry (sounded Black) called me
>and said he had it
>> but when I called him back he denied it. JVD-968 "89 Plymouth Reliant
>> 3P3BK41D9KT921716 is the vin number. John Reynolds still has a valid email
>missing. All are marked Greg Carr on the inside cover or somewhere in the CD
>booklet. $5 reward for each CD and for each book. Will pay $200 for info
>regarding how they disappeared because I honestly don't know.
>
