I'm going to find out today what is the delay???
This letter is against the Judge -
I sent it on October 17th...
To whom it may concern.
On September 12th at around 1:00pm, I was arrested for protesting with a blow horn in front of the Police Station in Fredericton.
I was asked if I would agree to sign a piece of paper stating that I would promise to keep the peace. I was not sure exactly what this meant and didn’t want to sign it, it was not explained well. Because of this fact I was arrested. I told the Police officers that I wanted to appear in front of a Judge.
Close one hour later, I was once again asked to sign some papers and I again refused to sign them. The reason I refused is I have a police scanner and I often hear of people being arrested by breaking some conditions. I didn’t want my civil liberties taken away; I am a blogger and didn’t want to be barred from doing things that may be mistaken as not keeping the peace.
I was escorted to the Court house in handcuffs and jailed. I was escorted to a duty council and he told me if I would sign some papers, I once again I refused. I asked to appear in front of a Provincial Judge. Around 30 minutes later I appeared in court and I noticed it was Judge Julian Dickson on on the bench.
The prosecutor suggested to the Judge that I shouldn't be allowed on the corner of Westmorland and Queen Street. I told the Judge that I lived on Westmorland Street. I couldn't hear what was being said because a woman was typing everything that was being said in the courtroom. I told Judge Julian Dickson that I had a difficult time hearing and I was distracted by the sound of the noise of the keyboard. I told the Judge that I have ADHD and I'm easily distracted!!!
I could tell that the Judge wasn't too please and he raised his voice. The prosecutor told the Judge that I shouldn't be allowed in the area of 300 block of Queen Street. I objected and told the Judge that I was a Blogger and I'm in that area. I asked if this also included City Hall? I needed to be told exactly where I couldn't go.
The female prosecutor present suggested that I shouldn't be allowed at the corner of Queen and Westmorland Street. I told the Judge that I couldn't agree to that suggestion because I walked the Bridges every night and I have to walk across the Westmorland Bridge to go home.
What will happen if I'm at the Corner of Queen and Westmorland walking across the Bridge? I said I couldn’t sign that piece of paper. The Judge replied- “Oh??? You don't want to sign that? No problem!!! You are remanded in jail till Friday morning!!”
He even laughed about it while figuring what time and date. This is demeaning and very unprofessional.
I asked for my medications and he told the Court that the team in Jail should take care of me. Once in Jail, the Staff denied my prescription, instead they offered me an alternative medication in lieu of my family doctor issued prescription. Not being able to consult with my family doctor on the potential negative effects of this "New Drug" I refused to accept the prison issued drug.
I am an asthmatic so I asked for my inhaler SALBUTAMOL SULFATE (APO Salvent) which was in my coat pocket which was stored at the facility, the refused to get it for me, instead they provided me with their own which was different than the one my doctor prescribed, I tried theirs and it did not work, it did not ease my breathing difficulties.
My complaint is the after I told the Judge that I have ADHD, he should have had more patience with me in explaining the details of my release papers. He found this a funny situation but it isn’t funny when you have a mental disability and have to deal with everything, including a Judge that doesn’t understand.
I have never been in jail for 48 hours before and it wasn't a pleasant experience. I am asking to have this Judge’s conduct investigated of the way he treated me. In the future, I would like to see the court more tolerant to people with mental disorders.
I do not want people with Mental Disorders to have to go through what I did and be denied help and medication.
To conclude: The judge failed to recognized that an adult with ADHD may have difficulty following directions, remembering information, concentrating. If these difficulties are not managed appropriately, they can cause associated behavioral, emotional, social problems.
Sincerely
Charles Leblanc
APT#1
145 Westmorland Street
Fredericton
New Brunswick
E3B 3L4
My complaint to the the New Brunswick Attorney General against Fredericton Crown Prosecutors Hilary Drain and Darlene Blunston!!
Charles LeBlanc
145 Westmoreland Street, Apt. 1
Fredericton, NB
E3B 3L4
email: oldmaison@yahoo.com
November 9, 2011
Hon. Marie-Claude Blais, Q.C.
Attorney General
Minister of Justice and Consumer Affairs
Centennial Building
P. O. Box 6000
Fredericton, NB
E3B 5H1
Dear Ms. Blais:
This is a complaint against Fredericton Crown Prosecutors Darlene Blunston
and Hilary Drain.
On September 14th, 2011, I was arrested outside of the Fredericton Police Station for using a blowhorn. I was charged by the police with causing a disturbance under the Criminal Code and immediately brought into court with Justice Julian Dickson presiding and lawyer Darlene Blunson representing the Crown.
Crown Prosecutor Blunston suggested to the Judge that I sign papers to keep me away from the 300 block of Queen Street. I stood up and told Judge Dickson that I am a blogger and I cover a lot of issues at City Hall and in the general area of the 300 block of Queen Street. I wanted to know exactly the area in the 300 block that I wasn't allowed to be in.
Crown Prosecutor Blunston suggested that I shouldn't be allowed to be in the area of the corner of Queen and Westmoreland Street. I told the Judge that I couldn't sign those papers because I walk the bridges (Westmoreland and Walking Bridges) every day. I have to walk across the Westmoreland Bridge to get
home and if I agreed to sign those papers the police could easily arrest me once I reached the end of the Westmorland Bridge on my daily walk.
When I objected to signing the document, Justice Dickson ordered me to be placed in custody for two days and I was sent to the Saint John Correctional Centre at Black River holding facility where I was denied my prescription asthma medication and sleeping pills (APO-oxazepam 30 mg per day).
I didn't know that protesting about what I believe is a wrongful police action could land me in jail. I was exercising my freedom of expression and speech.
Two days later, on September 16, I was back at the Fredericton court house to appear on this issue again in front of a different judge and a different prosecutor. This time, the conditions were different: all I had to do was be of good behaviour and don't use any noise making device such as a blowhorn.
To this day, I still cannot get an answer about what is the definition of "good behaviour", however, I do know that if the police decide to arrest me for whatever reason, they can put me in jail for 30 days.
I believe that Crown Prosecutor Darlene Blunston deliberately tried to set me up for failure at my original court hearing on September 14 so that I would be charged with breach of undertaking and be held in custody pending trial which could have dragged on for months. If I had been incarcerated I would have lost my subsidized housing unit and become homeless when I got out of jail.
Why would Crown Prosecutor Darlene Blunston recommend such a tricky condition? I have a police scanner at home and I often hear of someone being arrested because of a breach of undertaking. How many more
poor people with mental disorders have been forced to sign undertakings under such conditions and how many of them are at the Saint John Correctional Centre and other jails in New Brunswick today?
I am also asking that Hilary Drain, senior Crown Prosecutor for the Fredericton district, be investigated on this matter. I believe it is highly unusual that Ms. Drain, the senior Crown Prosecutor in Fredericton, would decide to take on this case. Crown Prosecutor Drain knows very well that I have been diagnosed with a mental disorder (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Distorder - ADHD) and that I have been denied a lawyer by New Brunswick Legal Aid.
She knows that I was jailed by Justice Dickson after I questioned the conditions that had been proposed by Crown Prosecutor Blunston on September 14. The very fact that Crown Prosecutor Drain handed over the
disclosure to me in the courtroom on the same day that my trial was supposed to begin on October 28 speaks volumes about her attitude towards me as a defendant.
I didn't even know there was supposed to be a trial that day because I do not have a lawyer to interpret the legal system for me. Did Hilary Drain treat me that way because I am a welfare recipient with a
mental disorder who dares to criticize the failure of the justice system to serve the poor and the mentally ill? Why would the senior Crown Prosecutor jump into a case seemingly as simple as this one?
Is there a hint of personal vendetta against me due to her long standing relationship with the
Fredericton City Police?
I would also like to know if it's proper conduct at a show cause hearing for the Prosecutor to accept evidence of a defendant's past history where the police were called but no charges were ever laid - for example, in my case, a complaint at the Legislature, the Human Rights Commission and the Police
Commission. The prosecutor introduced these 20 instances of police being called but never asked me whether I was ever spoken to by the police or charged with any offense, which I wasn't.
She also accepted Detective Sean Clark's suggestion that I be held in custody pending trial. All this for
speaking with a blowhorn?
I believe the potential for abuse of power at the Crown Prosecutor's office s extremely dangerous, especially when it comes to the rights of the defendants to have equal standing before the law. The way it stands now, the poor and mentally ill are denied legal representation and forced to sign undertakings that they may unwittingly breach and end up in jail for months on end at taxpayer's expense.
This is not right and I am sure when the public finds out about it on my blog they will be demanding changes to the way poor and mentally ill New Brunswickers are treated in the legal system.
I am asking your office to investigate my complaint thoroughly to ensure that proper procedures were followed and there was no abuse of authority because of my past dealings with the police force.
Thank you for your consideration. I can be reached by mail at the address above or by email at
oldmaison@yahoo.com
Sincerely,
Charles LeBlanc
