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A Supreme Court judge overturned a lower court ruling Tuesday afternoon and sent the accused Freedom Convoy leader home to Alberta
Publication date:
July 27, 2022 • 3 hours ago • Read 3 minutes Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Leach is hugged by supporters as she leaves the courthouse after being released from jail Tuesday, July 26, 2022 in Ottawa. Photo by Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
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Tamara Leach was out on bail again after a Superior Court judge overturned a lower court ruling Tuesday afternoon and sent the accused Freedom Convoy leader home to Alberta, bringing to a swift end her second successful retrial the guarantee.
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Leach, 49, waved to supporters in the courtroom before signing her latest release order, which contains many of the same terms of her previous release, but with new clarifying language around some of the disputed terms.
Superior Court Judge Andrew Goodman sided with Leach and her lawyers, Lawrence Greenspon and Eric Granger, in his ruling Tuesday, which came after two full days of hearings in Leach’s second bail review — and fifth time before a judge — since her arrest and initial detention.
“Take those shackles off,” Goodman instructed the court security officer after telling Leach she would be released on certain conditions.
The judge warned Leach to abide by the conditions of her release, which include a strict ban on associating with other accused Freedom Convoy leaders.
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Supporters surround Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Leach as she leaves court after being released from jail Tuesday, July 26, 2022, in Ottawa. Photo by Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
That condition was amended and clarified Tuesday to allow an exception while “in the presence of counsel or civilian legal counsel.”
It is the second time a High Court judge has heard the Crown’s evidence against Leach in a bail review and ordered Leach released from prison.
Superior Court Judge John Johnston also ordered that Leach be released from prison on March 7, overturning an Ontario court decision that initially denied Leach bail following her Feb. 17 arrest.
Leach was then brought back before Superior Court Judge Kevin Phillips after the Crown alleged she violated two conditions of that release order — one when she accepted an invitation to a gala hosted by the Justice Center for Constitutional Freedoms and another when appeared on a social media post as a “brand ambassador” for a trucker-themed “freedom pendant.”
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Leach was then re-arrested and charged with breaching her bail conditions after attending a June 16 gala in Toronto, where she was seen exchanging brief greetings and posing for a group photo with fellow convoy organizer Tom Marrazzo. Justice of the Peace Paul Harris revoked Leach’s bail and sent her back to jail in mid-July.
However, Goodman found several “legal errors” in that ruling and said those errors were “compounded” by inflammatory statements by Harris when he suggested Leach had adopted an “absolutely ridiculous” interpretation of the no-contact order.
Goodman conducted his own analysis of the evidence from the gala and determined that the violation was “minor.” The experienced judge said these were matters that could be examined after the case reached court and not during the bail phase.
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“The judge has to be careful not to play the role of judge or jury (during the bail phase),” Goodman said.
These issues “must be analyzed at trial, not at the release hearing.”
Goodman also sided with the defense on the contentious argument about the strength of the Crown’s case against Leach, the seriousness of the offenses and the potential for a lengthy prison term if convicted.
The four judges who previously heard the evidence against Leach came back with differing opinions on whether she could serve significant time for the mischief, intimidation and related counseling charges she faces.
“Two (lower court judges) opined that the Crown’s case was strong,” Goodman said.
“However, two High Court peers found that the strength of the Crown’s case was open to challenge. I share this opinion. The Crown’s case cannot be considered strong, although it may be persuasive at trial.
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Goodman said he found it “highly unlikely” that Leach, with no criminal record and no violent charges, would face a potentially lengthy prison term.
Other than the gala exchange, there is no evidence of other wrongdoing in the four months since her arrest, Goodman said, while expressing confidence in Leach’s court-approved bond.
Leach has spent a total of 49 days in custody at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Center since her initial arrest, and Goodman on Tuesday agreed with Greenspoon’s arguments that Leach may have already spent more time in custody “as a presumptively innocent person” than would have served time if convicted and sentenced at trial.
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