Last week, I was asked by Bonnie O’Dea if I would go to her court trial.
I first met Bonnie during Tent City in 2004. She has her way of protesting issues and I got mine.
I love to agitate her when I see her on the streets.
Once you get to know her? She’s not a bad person.
Bonnie was going to go on trial for making harassing phone calls to the workers of New Brunswick Family Services in Fredericton.
At the last minute, I decided to make an appearance at the Justice Building at 9:15am.
Bonny was outside having a smoke.
She looked upbeat and we had a little chat.
She was concern that nobody showed up?
I wasn’t going to stay long because I just finished a two-hour session in court the day before. < I’ll write about that one later. >
Lately, people are asking me to show up because the Irvings are not present and they are scared to be sent to jail without the public knowing the facts?
Once in court, present was one Police Officer, four workers from Family Services and a reporter from the Irving’s paper.
Just for the record? The guy hates to be called an Irving employee. He’s a very nice guy but since the Irvings owns all the newspapers in New Brunswick? You have to be an Irving employee I guess?
Ok...never mind that!
I noticed the prosecutor was laughing away with the workers of Family Services but it was no laughing matter for Bonnie.
Once the trial began, Bonnie looked a little hyper. She told the Judge that the disclosures were full of many lies < surprise? >
That’s exactly what happened with me in Saint John.
OK . . . never mind that . . .
Bonnie wanted to forward the disclosure as evidence but couldn’t.
Every instance Bonnie would say something? The old female Prosecutor would object to her every point of view.
Bonnie was getting very frustrated.
Lets not forget that she was denied a lawyer by New Brunswick Legal Aid and was at the mercy of the court.
You would have believed that a lawyer would have been present to give her a helping hand?
But nooooo....
I’m no genius in the Court system but I believe I know what’s the problem?
Canadians always watching American court television such as Law and Order or Matlock
They believe it’s the same system in place here in Canada?
I strongly believe that it’s time for Canadians to show their own court room drama.
Why not? I wish my trial in Saint John would have been on television. New Brunswickers would have seen first hand the way our Police Officers can act in court.
Ok..never mind that....
Bonnie was very hyper and the prosecutor knew it.
They were laughing at the way she acted but it was no funny story.
The first witness told the court that Bonnie called on seven different occasions.
At the end, she never answered the phone.
She told the court that she wasn’t certain that it was Bonnie calling because it said that it was a private number.
So? A good lawyer would have kept it at that!!!
Nope! Not Bonnie!!! She began to cross examine the worker and it began to go downhill.
We took a break and I began to have a conversation with the Irving employee. He told me that I wasn’t a journalist. < From a story that happen the day before in court. I’ll blog that later >
I replied - I am a journalist. I report news but with an opinion! < The journalist part came in handy later on in the day with the Fredericton Police Force >
Bonnie was a little down because she didn’t know how the system worked.
The prosecutor knew exactly how to play the acting roll in court but Bonnie didn’t.
It got so bad in the court that Bonnie decided to change her plea to guilty and get it over with!
She went further by telling the Judge to have a trial without her. She’s going home and the Judge can send the police when the verdict is ready?
Well, the judge ordered the Sheriffs to stop her and she ended in the prisoner box.
She had a chat with a lawyer in some room minutes earlier but the lawyer was nowhere to be seen.
The Judge told Bonnie that she’ll be remanded till her trial in the morning.
Bonnie with tears in her eyes told the female judge that she had a sick 15 years old with the flu and her father just died in Newfoundland.
She doesn’t wish to go to jail for her daughter’s sake.
The Judge had a change of heart and ordered the trial to continue at 2:00pm!!!
While chatting with someone on King’s street, I noticed the same lawyer walking into a building.
I shouted - OUR LEGAL AID MUST CHANGE!!!! WE NEED MORE RESOURCES IN OUR LEGAL AID!!!
He quickly replied - Phone your MLA and walked in the building!!!
I bumped into Amanda who’s doing a project on the poor people in Fredericton.
I told her - Do you want to see how the poor are treated by our Justice department?
Meet me in front of the Justice Building at 2:00pm!!! You’ll see it in your own eyes!!!
I arrived there and Bonnie was there.
I decided to do a few audio interviews for the blog and inside we went.
The witnesses testified that they felt harassed by her phone calls.
I had a strange feeling that the trial of harassment could be the same with me if I’m ever charge at the New Brunswick Legislature.
OK..never mind that...
There was another break and I told Bonnie not to cross examine the witnesses because she would just dig a deeper hole.
I gave Bonnie my cross and told her to say a prayer.
So? The workers at Family Services had their say and Bonnie never called any witnesses. It was the end of a very hectic day but we had to wait for the verdict of the Judge.
Bonnie was certain that she was going to end up in jail but I told her not to worry because I just couldn’t see a Judge sending someone in jail for making phone calls.
But there was this probation of maintaining the peace?
Amanda showed up also at 2:00pm. She was supposed to stay in the court room till 3:00pm but was still there for sentencing at 4:15pm!
I bet she found this situation very interesting.
I told Amanda before sentencing that Bonnie might be ordered to take some mental assessment or something like that.
The Judge is a very nice person. She reminded Bonnie that her behavior wasn’t the best and if she ever been diagnosed with ADHD????
MY GOD!!!! I was against the wall and I quickly raised my arm!!!...lol....
Bonnie got very lucky. The Judge gave her a suspended sentence and she has to go for mental assessment but warned her that if she showed up in court again?
She would go to jail!!!
Bonnie promise that the Judge will never see her again in court.
After a very hectic stressful day?
It was over!!!!
Bonnie was going home. She came towards me and I reminded her to give me my cross. She told me that the cross help her cause.
She couldn’t wait to go outside for a nice smoke.
Well? Little did anybody know? Bonnie wasn’t going anywhere.
Right around the corner came a cop in his 60s from the Fredericton Police Force to face Bonnie.
I forgot the term he used but he showed her a piece of paper and told her that she has to pay a fine of $100.00 or land five days in jail!
Bonnie face dropped and she said that she didn’t know what he was talking about.
The Police Officer had no-good public relation at all!
Bonnie said that she was going outside for a smoke but the cop ordered her under arrest!!!
If she didn’t have $100,00???
She was going to jail.
I stepped forward and told the cop that Bonnie was stressed out and the Judge ordered a mental assessment!!!
The cop quickly focused his eyes on me and shouted - SHUT UP!!!!!
You could have heard him one mile away and there were close to 10 Sheriffs around me.
I quickly went from Le Blogger to the journalist!
I went for my notepad and never said a word.
I knew the Sheriffs had a quiet day so why cause a disturbance close to quitting time. I wasn't going to join Bonnie in Jail!!!
I might add the workers in the Sheriff’s department are a nice bunch of people.
The Fredericton cop was very very very rude and it my opinion?
He shouldn’t be there! He sorta reminded me of John Parks in Saint John. Hey? He might be his cousin????
Was I being set up? Who truly knows?
I was so upset so being degraded in front of everyone that I told the Irving Employee < who was watching the situation very closely >
F#cking Cop!!!!
Well, Guess what? If I’m starting to dislikes our local Police Force?
Well, The situation must be bad?
Once society loses faith with their local Police Force?
It’s the end of democracy as we know it!
Bonnie was in tears and it off to the jail cell in Saint John. She handed her backpack and away she went.
I tried to take a close up of her in the Van but ended up with this one-
I told a few friends of hers what has happened in court and they were heading toward Saint John to pay the fine and pick her up.
What really disturbs me in this case? The cop or bureaucrats could have waited a couple of days to arrest her? They knew she’s on Social Assistance and a check would be in the mail in a couple of days.
Were the bureaucrats and cops working side by side on this one?
She went through hell in court and now this?
Sorry!!! It doesn’t speak volumes for our system.
Thank God??? We have good Judges in this Province because if it was to the Bureaucrats and the Police? All the poor would be in jail!!!!
How many poor people are in jail in New Brunswick who had no rights to a lawyer????
