From: johnturmel@yahoo.com   
      
   JCT: In "Another Quebec Smith BENO Quash in play" I   
   mentioned a Quebec farmer busted growing 250 plants who had   
   agreed to plead guilty facing a possible 8-month sentence.   
   His Jan 22 2015 sentencing had been transferred from Quebec   
   City to Montreal so he could be jailed there closer his   
   family but Ray Turmel and Maxime Gauthier visited with him   
   and his lawyer on the morning of the hearing. With the news   
   reports of the Crown give-ups for James Turner's 2,879 and   
   Ray's 500 plants, the lawyer agreed he had nothing to lose   
   by changing his plea and going back to Quebec City for trial   
   and motion to quash. He wouldn't make the motion but would   
   help in any way he could.   
      
   So the plea was changed, the lawyer withdrew, and the Crown   
   now knows they have a fight on their hand.   
      
   On Saturday morning, Quebec Crown Attorney Belanger called   
   his old lawyer and told him that a warrant had been issued   
   for Rene's arrest after he failed to show on Friday Feb 5   
   2016. But no date had been set in Montreal and he hadn't   
   been given any notice to be there! So how could the Crown   
   get a warrant without proof of service? It was a warning for   
   Rene had to be there Monday morning to prevent process on   
   the warrant. Good. So Ray and Rene drove to Montreal for the   
   hearing.   
      
   Before the hearing, they met with Belanger. He knew who Ray   
   was since he'd seen the Franc Tireur video from election   
   time. He cautioned Ray to warn the guy who wrote the kit   
   that I might end up being reported to the Quebec Law   
   Society. Ray blew that out of the water with a good laugh.   
   I've already been checked out by the Ontario and Quebec Law   
   Societies and there's nothing they can do as long as I don't   
   charge them as a lawyer.   
      
   He also tried to insinuate that Rene was linked to the   
   bikers. Ray laughed that if he was linked to the bikers,   
   he'd have known how to steal the Hydro and Rene was paying   
   for his Hydro! Har har har har har har. Bikers!   
      
   About any plea deal, Ray said that there was no chance   
   unless he could go to Disney World with his grand-kids. That   
   meant no criminal record.   
      
   Crown thinks this can be over in 9 months! Har har har har   
   har har, har har har har har har. Wait until the   
   Constitutional lands on his desk if he survives the Quash.   
      
   At the hearing before Judge Rena Emond, the Crown argued   
   that the motion was improper without being sworn but before   
   we could plead the Magic Words, offered to allow it to be   
   commissioned by the clerk right then and there. Nice.   
      
   He argued the Quash Motion had to be heard by the Trial   
   Judge but Madame Justice Emond ordered it be heard by an   
   English judge and put it off to be heard in Courtroom #2.15   
   Quebec City on Feb 19 9:30am with the Crown's motion to have   
   it put off to the Trial Judge argued then. Guess he missed   
   Page 11 in the Motion that said:   
      
   Any judge may amend a defective indictment under S.601,   
   whether it be a bad address (amended) or a bad charge   
   (quashed). 1. S.601 states:   
      
    "Amending defective indictment or count   
    (1) An objection to an indictment preferred under this   
    Part or to a count in an indictment, for a defect   
    apparent on its face, shall be taken by motion to quash   
    the indictment or count before the accused enters a plea.   
    Question of law   
    (6) The question whether an order to amend an indictment   
    or a count thereof should be granted or refused is a   
    question of law.   
    Definition of "court"   
    (10) In this section, "court" means a court, judge,   
    justice or provincial court judge acting in summary   
    conviction proceedings or in proceedings on indictment.   
      
   S.601 says an objection to amend a defective indictment must   
   be made pre-plea to "a court" of first instance with power   
   to amend the defective indictment so later judges only deal   
   with valid counts. The indictment must be amended before   
   being sent to the Trial Court for plea and certainly before   
   any evidence presented at a Preliminary Inquiry. Specific   
   jurisdiction is only conferred upon one judge of the court   
   once the Accused has pleaded before him. Until then, any   
   other judge of the court may amend the indictment. Though it   
   would be procedurally convenient to have the Trial Judge   
   also rule on the S.601 amendments to the indictment, a Trial   
   Judge is not even appointed until the Preliminary Inquiry   
   judge has sent it further. The Criminal Code mandates   
   amending the indictment by "a court" of first instance   
   before any time is wasted on other procedures. It makes no   
   sense to wait for the Trial Judge to amend the defective   
   indictment only after a Preliminary Inquiry has wasted its   
   time on the defects in that indictment that are struck.   
      
   JCT: So after the Crown tries to argue (without any   
   citations) that the only Trial Judge can hear the motion to   
   amend his address... kidding, same section, to quash his   
   charge. Then Rene points to Page 11 that names all the   
   different judges who can hear it with no mention of Trial   
   Judge.   
      
   Finally, he can mention Robert Neron and Chris Ens whose   
   Quash motions are on reserved decision in Ontario and Nova   
   Scotia by judges not seized of Trial jurisdiction by any   
   plea.   
      
   So that attempt to stall is a complete loser which means   
   that the sitting judge will end up seized of the motion. No   
   ducking it any more.   
      
   Won't it be fun to hear the Crown say he's not ready to   
   respond because he didn't expect to lose the move to the   
   Trial Judge. Har har har. Song and dance time.   
      
   Since Rene has nothing more to say, the judge will give the   
   Crown time to respond like Robert Neron's Justice Riopelle   
   did and then decide. Still, reserved decisions in 3   
   provinces should cut down on any laughter. What if one   
   contradicts the others?   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)