A recent Ontario Superior Court ruling, in the case against Mr. Theodorus DeBoer for participating in the Covid-19 Ambassador Bridge protest in Windsor, has overturned the suspended sentence handed down by the lower court.

Mr. DeBoer, a 70-year-old Ontario resident with no prior record, participated in the protest for one day, and found himself charged with mischief for “interfering with the lawful operation of commercial vehicles transporting goods across the bridge.”

Mr. DeBoer offered a guilty plea, after which both the Crown and his defence lawyers jointly submitted a recommendation for a conditional discharge sentence of one year probation and 20 hrs of community service.

Despite the submission, the trial judge chose to disregard their recommendation and issue a more severe suspended sentence; one that would end with a permanent criminal record for Mr. DeBoer.

The appeal court determined that the trial judge had erred in his ruling and allowed the appeal to proceed.

According to Justice Gorman, the trial judge first erred in his comparison of DeBoer to another case from the same protest, a comparison which Justice Gorman considered “unjustified”, placing the “defense in a difficult position.” The error was in straying from the application of the established “public interest test.”

The second, more notable error, was for the trial judge to deviate from the joint recommendation for sentencing.

Justice Gorman wrote, “Under the public interest test, a trial judge should not depart from a joint submission on sentence unless the proposed sentence would bring the administration of justice into disrepute or is otherwise contrary to the public interest. In my view, there is nothing in the proposed sentence that would bring the administration of justice into disrepute. The appellant is a first-time offender who pled guilty – albeit not at the first opportunity. His plea saved judicial resources and was an acknowledgement of his remorse.”

In the end, the decision overturned the suspended sentence, replacing it with a conditional discharge; Mr. DeBoer is found guilty but not convicted, and is discharged upon completion of the terms of his probation. He will have no permanent criminal record.

The trial judge who erred in this case is a relatively new appointee. Are these errors then the result of inexperience, of incorrectly interpreting case law, or was this another politically motivated attempt to unduly penalize those exercising their rights in protest of government over-reach?

We respect Justice Gorman for acknowledging these errors and dutifully correcting the outcome for Mr. DeBoer.

We need to remain vigilant. Until honesty and integrity have returned to our justice system and case law is fully established in these unique circumstances.

To read article written by The Canadian Independent, click here