It was a trial that captured a fair bit of attention from the commentary of the presiding Judge Patterson at its completion, a single line in one of the two trial documents, the Oral Reasons for Judgement, summing up the time spent in the Prince Rupert court house this spring.
"This court file's long and tortured history up to April 18, 2023, is set out in R. v. Hardy, 2023 BCPC 65."
The transcripts of the trial of Cameron Hardy in Prince Rupert Court from this past spring have been released to the CanLII website archive.
The documentation providing for a fascinating look at how the legal system works when it comes up against a person who doesn't accept the courts as the final word.
The court trial seemingly one of exasperation for all involved, that as the defendant channeled misinformation on COVID and his own personal beliefs in a self defence that as a 'freeman' he mostly reflected that he didn't have to participate in the legal process underway.
The defendant having chose to represent himself rather than to access legal representation, the two transcripts provide a view of a trail of speechifying and obfuscation for the most part from the defendant; making for what must have been much in the way of frustration for all of those involved in the court case.
In the case of Mr. Hardy, whether he's approving of the process or not, he's facing a year in jail for contempt of court. That following his obstruction of a trio of Prince Rupert RCMP members called to a disturbance at the city's BC Liquor Store in May of 2021.
The court proceedings began in May of 2021, the final sentencing arriving in April of 2023.
A two year travel in time that could make for a Netflix project or a Crave documentary as a remarkable snapshot of a legal system trying to come to terms with someone who doesn't believe it has any jurisdiction in his life.
The final commentary from the Judge in the trial transcript providing the main thrust of what was at stake during the course of the two years that it took to bring to a close.
In the circumstances, the court must bring home to Hardy and other like-minded individuals the futility of denying the legitimacy and authority of Canada’s courts and the consequence of disrupting and impeding the administration of justice.
No fine, a conditional sentence order, or a probationary term would be appropriate, given Hardy’s refusal to accept the court's jurisdiction or follow its orders.
Although I am not ordering costs against Hardy, as set out in Fearn v Canada Customs, the prospect that in the future, costs will be considered against OPCA-type offenders in criminal contempt of court cases should not be dismissed.
Some media snapshots of the trial from the Spring set the scene
BC judge sentences man to 1 year in jail for contempt of court
Judge in Prince Rupert stakes arguments as 'stupid' in contempt case
BC 'Freeman' says Canadian law doesn't apply to him, but judge rejects his 'stupid' arguments
The archives of the court case and subsequent judgment however provide much more in detail towards the two year run for the case file and the volume of time and resources required to bring it to a close.
Those can be reviewed below:
More notes on previous cases through the legal system can be found from our archive page here.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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