Chapter 10
Bail is Set At...
The criminal justice system in Canada is divided into two separate trial courts: the Provincial Courts and the Superior Courts. The provincial courts try the majority of cases in Ontario because most of the crimes that are committed are summary convictions or minor offenses. These trials are tried before a judge only. More serious crimes or indictable offenses have the option to be tried either before the Superior Court or the Provincial Court. If tried in the Superior Court, a jury would be impaneled to hear the case, whereas if it is tried in provincial court, the case would proceed similar to that of a summary conviction. When one walks into a Canadian courtroom, one would notice the difference in appearance to their American counterparts. The main distinction is that the accused does not sit with his/her attorney but in a box located in the middle of the court room in front of the visitor's gallery and behind the tables for the crown on the right and defense on the left. The judge sits at a rostrum at the front of the courtroom with the jury, (if there is one), sitting in a box to the judge's left. The last difference is that the attorneys usually do not wander around the court room or approach the witness when asking questions, but do so from a podium placed in between the tables for the crown and the defense.
Even though Elliot Ravenwood was charged with a major crime and requested a jury trial, almost all pre-trial hearings would take place in a provincial courthouse before a provincial judge. However on this day, Elijah would be requesting a review of the bail decision, which means that it will be heard in Ontario Superior Court before a superior court judge. Located at 361 University Avenue, next to the historic Osgoode Hall, the large, five storey Superior Courthouse was the venue for most of the high profile cases prosecuted in the city, including many in Elijah's illustrious career.
True to form, Elijah arrived at the courthouse early in order to prepare for the case and talk to the crown attorney before the proceeding. On this particular occasion, when Elijah entered courtroom number seven, he was a little taken aback by who the crown attorney was going to be for the case: a woman by the name of Samantha Howard. Now Samantha Howard can be a very feisty person, especially when it comes to the law, but this was not how Elijah viewed her. He wasn't intimidated by her stature (for she stood almost a foot taller than him), nor was he distracted by her long, fiery red hair. Deep down in his heart however, he was afraid of Samantha Howard, if for no other reason than the fact that she, like him, loved to win in court. As he walked towards her, he really did not know what to say, but that feeling quickly abated because she (as was often the case) took the lead and started the conversation.
"Professor Deville, it is certainly an honor to have you here in court today," Samantha said.
"Samantha, I mean Ms. Howard. My, how the years have flown by! I can still remember when you were in my criminal law theory course and tried to convince me that people charged with indictable offenses should always be held without bail pending trial. Your argument as I recall, centered on the fact that these types of accused people present a danger to the public. You also said that these types of people pose a flight risk, and show an increased propensity to intimidate witnesses and or tamper with and destroy evidence, because of the seriousness of the charges brought against them. You claimed that only in extreme cases should someone be granted bail, and even in that situation that they should be placed under house arrest. Wish to try that argument again?"
"No Professor, I learned way back that there is no use trying to argue law with you-- even when you're wrong!" she said with a grin.
"Well if that's the only lesson you learned from my class that's a success on my part. After all, everyone has the right to my opinion," Elijah chuckled.
"Anyway Professor, I'm surprised that you took this case, after all, it's a slam dunk for the crown," she said.
"A slam dunk you say. I have watched many basketball games and if there's one thing I've noticed, it is that slam dunks aren't always a sure thing," he remarked.
Seconds later, the court was called to order and everyone sat down. The Honorable Justice Robert Marley then began calling the cases for the day.
"Case #34562: R. v. Elliot Ravenwood," Marley said.
As the judge called the case, Deville and Howard took their place at their respective tables.
"Elijah Deville for the defense."
"So I see Mr. Ravenwood has found more expensive legal counsel has he," Marley said as both lawyers chuckled. "I assume then that this will be a short hearing."
"I hope so Your Honor," Elijah said.
"Good," the judge replied. "The purpose of this hearing is to determine whether bail should be granted to the accused or whether he should remain in custody pending his murder trial. On July 3rd, 2010, the Superior court ruled that the defense had not proven sufficient grounds to release Mr. Ravenwood, so bail was denied. Pursuant to Ontario law, an automatic review of that decision was mandated to be held no later than September 30, 2010, a full 90 days after the first judgment. This hearing shall be deemed to fulfill the requirements under Ontario Law. Mr. Deville, you may now proceed with your arguments."
"Thank you, Your Honor for hearing this motion. In this country, last I checked, an accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty. This means that until such time that the crown proves the guilt of anyone; the court should lean heavily against incarcerating people without just cause. I therefore seek a reconsideration of bail. First and foremost, the crown admits that my client has no previous criminal record, has strong ties to the community and poses no flight risk. Secondly, they also did not contend that my client would re-offend if granted bail. The only reason that they give for keeping my client behind bars is to maintain the public's confidence in the administration of justice. Now I know that bail has been a hot button issue politically and with society on the whole, but the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees that the accused not be denied reasonable bail without just cause. As far as I can find, there isn't a good enough reason here to deny bail. Moreover, I might remind the court that even in cases of near-certain guilt, Justice's of the Peace have granted bail because it isn't their job to assess the strengths of a given case, but is for bail only. In this situation, my client has a surety that can provide bail and this person will guarantee that he will appear in court to face the charges brought against him. In the interest of Justice, I request that the court grant bail at no higher than $10,000. Thank you Your Honor."
"Does the crown have anything to add?"
"Yes we do Your Honor," Samantha said, stepping up to the podium. "Even though we live in a country where a person is innocent until proven guilty and even though we live in a country where bail is not to be denied without just cause, the fact remains that Mr. Ravenwood is accused of committing 1st degree murder. We're not talking about petty theft; we're talking about the premeditated taking of someone's life. If the court accepts the defense's motion, it would be seriously undermining the public's confidence in our justice system. We have seen time and time again people flee jurisdiction upon release, or even worse, commit further crimes before trial. The public is outraged at this and how easy it is in this country to receive bail. They perceive that it as an injustice aimed at the victims of these crimes. The court needs to send a message to Canadians, that while they recognize the presumption of innocence, that public safety demands the accused not be allowed to inflict harm to the justice system in this country. Therefore in the interest of justice, the crown asks the court once again, that the accused be held without bail." Samantha then sat down.
After about a one minute pause, Justice Marley issued his ruling.
"It is true what the crown says about the public having to have confidence that the justice system will work for everyone. At the foundation of these principles though lies the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In it, it says that an accused can not be held without bail without just cause. Now the public may not like it, or e
ven agree with it, but it is the law we live under until our elected officials change it. In this case the onus is on the accused to show why he should be released. I believe the defense has provided this court with sufficient grounds to support their motion. As such, I hereby order the accused released when a surety offers this court $100,000 as bail," Justice Marley said as he signed the order. He gave one copy to the defense, one copy to the crown and one copy to the Court Clerk for filing.
"As to the matter of a court date, it is my understanding that the preliminary hearing has been set for October 4th, 2010. Is that date still suitable for you Mr. Deville?" the judge asked.
"Actually Your Honor, at this time the defense would like to waive its right to a preliminary hearing and wishes to proceed right to trial by jury in the Superior Court."
"Is there objection from the crown?" Marley asked.
"No there isn't, Your Honor," Samantha said.
"Fine then, looking at the superior court's calendar, this trial will be scheduled to begin on January 10, 2011, in this building."
An elated Elijah stood up, and went outside of the courtroom to phone Mrs. Ravenwood and inform her that bail had been granted. Following this call, Elijah couldn't help but notice that Samantha was motioning for him to come and talk with her.
"Professor Deville," she said.
"Well Ms. Howard, it seems that nothing changes now does it?" he said as he leaned against the courtroom wall.
"You may have won this battle, professor, but the war is far from over. However, because I'm in a good mood, I'm willing to offer your client a deal. If he pleads to 2nd Degree Murder, and accepts a sentence of 15 years to life, the crown would consider not moving forward with the embezzlement charges," Samantha explained.
"Well I'm glad for your good mood, but this sounds a lot like the deal you offered Elliot before he fired his last lawyer. Now why would I take a deal like that?" Elijah asked.
"Because if you don't, your client will go away for at least 25 years for murder plus 10 years for embezzlement. If I was his lawyer, I'd tell him that due to the overwhelming evidence against him, that he should take this gift that the crown is offering, for it's a gift," said Samantha, as she and Elijah began walking towards the doors.
"Well, since my client claims that he is innocent, we'll pass on the offer."
"That's exactly what I thought you'd say. Don't tell me that I didn't try," she said as they continued walking.
"You must feel rather confident that you'll get a conviction, unless of course you offered Elliot this plea bargain in order to hedge your bet," Elijah said.
"We've got your client cold. He had the torch in his trunk, he was seen near the ride on the night of the sabotage, he had a motive to kill the victim, means, motive and opportunity," she said folding her arms as they walked outside.
"You forget one of the first lessons that I teach all law students who take my course: 'Don't get too cocky when all you have got is circumstantial evidence.' You don't have fingerprints, which personally I find odd, considering that he supposedly left the torch in his trunk. You don't have an eye witness who actually saw Mr. Ravenwood torch the ride. And as for motive, I intend to poke holes into that as well. Now if that's all Ms. Howard, I need to get changed and get on with my day."
"I'll see you in court then professor," Samantha said.
As Elijah and Samantha parted ways, he quickly changed out of his black robes and left the building, with the full intent of meeting Becca at the office. To his surprise however, Becca was sitting underneath one of the trees outside eating a slice of pizza.
"Elijah!" she yelled, wiping her mouth as she got up to run after him.
"What are you doing here? Aren't there important things to do at the office?" Elijah said, looking puzzled and a little annoyed that she hadn't bought him a slice of pizza.
"I finished all the work that I had, so I decided to hop on the subway and see how things went. So," she paused, "How did it go?"
"Great!" Elliot responded. "Elliot's going to be out on bail; everything's going fantastic, except..." Elijah paused.
"Except what?" Becca asked.
"Except that the crown attorney is one of my former students and I don't really know how to deal with her.
"Deal with her like you deal with all of the other crown attorneys that you face: with an iron fist."
"Oh that's not it at all. You see Samantha Howard is a very competitive individual. She always had to win her mock trials and was very combative in the classroom. Even today, it seemed like her attitude was more about proving me wrong, than prosecuting for the crown. I don't like it when crown attorneys do that, I wish they'd just stick to the evidence."
"But isn't that her job, proving her point by showing whoever is on your side of the aisle, wrong?" Becca asked inquisitively.
"I guess you had to be there to notice. Anyway, I don't buy the argument that you couldn't wait to hear how the case went. If you're up here, it's because you've uncovered something important."
"I have indeed," Becca said with a big grin on her face. "Yesterday I went to visit Audrey Taylor and as the interview broke up you'll never guess who showed up," Becca explained, pausing for dramatic effect. "Daniel Morris! Now they gave me the line that they had just begun dating a few weeks ago, but my radar immediately went up, so I questioned a couple of the neighbors. They told me for the past year, on nights that Scott worked late, and Katie was somewhere else, a car with the license plate 'DRAGON' was invariably parked in their driveway. After a little records checking I found out that the license plate was registered to the one and only Daniel Morris," Becca said excitedly.
"So, the marriage wasn't as close as we were led to believe. Maybe we'd better have a talk with Mr. Morris to see what he says."
"Where do you think we're going to find him?"
"With any luck, he'll be right where he's supposed to be: at work. Come on, let me get changed and then let's take the subway back to Rosedale, get your car, and take a drive up to Canada's AdventureLand to have a look around."
So Elijah and Becca hopped on the subway back to their own neighborhood of Rosedale to fetch the car. Neither of them knew what they were going to find at the theme park, but they were hoping that it would be enough to begin showing that Elliot Ravenwood did not murder his boss Scott Taylor.
**********