Hubert's Case — Criminal Harassment — Withdrawn

Client:  Hubert W., Accused
Complainant:  Hubert's employer, T*** Health Services
Charge:  Criminal Harassment (repeatedly communicating)

Background:   Hubert was a quiet man. He was quiet at home. He was quiet at work. He never argued. He never complained. If you had met him, you'd probably describe him as gentle, and you might think that nothing ever annoyed or upset him. You'd be very wrong. Hubert had a problem dealing with people or events that bothered him. On the outside, there was no manifest response. On the inside, however, Hubert would be very upset but he would refuse to process or express any of his anger. As often occurs with any repressed emotions, the emotions found a way to express themselves. As you can read in the police report, Hubert was upset about losing his job, and he remained upset for a long time. He made some very nasty but anonymous telephone calls to his former co-workers. They complained to the police who investigated the source of the calls. The police identified Hubert as the person making these calls, and he was charged accordingly. When Hubert came to my office, he presented as one of the kindest, gentlest, and quietest men I have ever dealt with. Even with my years of experience, it was difficult to picture this man committing these acts.

READ THE POLICE REPORT

Goals:   Hubert was clearly overwhelmed with his predicament. He never counted on getting caught, and now he found himself in my office being forced to deal with everything all at once. Not having a clear idea of what his objectives were, I proposed the following:  (i) let's try to get the charge withdrawn; and (ii) let's try to gain an understanding of "why" all this occurred, and then take the necessary remedial steps to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.

Strategy:   I had two angles with Hubert's case. I first wanted Hubert to apply for the Crown's mental health diversion program. This program allows both the Crown and the accused person to deal with the matter on a mental health basis rather than through a formal prosecution. To apply for the program, Hubert would need to undergo assessment and counselling, and we would need a report from the counsellor identifying the mental health problem(s) and outlining the recommended treatment. If the Crown agreed to qualify Hubert for the program, Hubert would have to follow through with the treatment, and the charge would be withdrawn at some point down the road. The facts were rather aggravating (especially the racial slurs), and I knew it would be an uphill battle, but we decided to apply for mental health diversion. If we failed at that, our fallback position was to fight the case at trial. There were several arguments I could advance at trial. My main argument would have been that the Crown could not prove who made those calls.

Results:   After about eight months of counselling, three reports, and four Crown pre-trial meetings, the Crown rejected Hubert's application for mental health diversion. On the next Court date, I indicated to the Judge and the Crown that we wanted to schedule a trial. Due to the complexity of the matter, the Judge ordered that we should attend a Judicial pre-trial meeting, which is a meeting with a Judge, the Crown, and (usually) the police officer in charge of the matter. At the Judicial pre-trial meeting a month later, I had an opportunity to again present the report, and I even had a letter from Hubert's former employer indicating that they would be content if Hubert was not prosecuted. The Judge sought the police officer's opinion, and he indicated that he would be content if Hubert simply signed a peace bond with a condition to stay away from the victims. The Judge then asked the Crown at the Judicial pre-trial meeting to consult the Crown team leader to determine if he would either re-consider the mental health diversion application or consider resolving the matter by way of peace bond. The team leader wasn't in that day, so the matter had to be adjourned again. Four days later, I managed to corner the team leader in his office. I quickly made my pitch, and the matter was settled. On the next Court date, Hubert entered into a peace bond with conditions, and the charge was withdrawn.

READ HUBERT'S TESTIMONIAL