More delays in sheep nabbing court case

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

by JOE CALLAHAN

Things came to an abrupt halt last week in the criminal court proceedings initiated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency against Montana Jones and Michael Schmidt, and one of the accused is claiming that the Crown is using stall tactics in the interest of depleting the two farmers' resources.

“It was much adieu about nothing,” said Michael Schmidt. “It seems like they want to create stall tactics by removing lawyers.”

Defense lawyers Shawn Buckley and Karen Selick are facing removal from the case if a conflict of interest is determined to exist. Judge Lorne Chester was hearing the conflict of interest charges in Lindsay’s Ontario Court of Justice Sept. 18 when he granted defense counsel Buckley’s request to have the proceeding referred to judicial review.

The request came when Crown Attorney Damien Frost, a Toronto lawyer, was questioning a witness in cross-examination. (The content of the cross-examination was subjected to a publication ban at Buckely’s request.)

photo: Left to right: Montana Jones, Shawn Buckley and Michael Schmidt

After the cross-examination had started, Buckley asked for the judicial review, claiming that cross-examination of witnesses was not appropriate in a conflict of interest hearing and that the court had no record of a precedent to guide the proceedings. He had made a similar claim earlier in the proceedings, which had been under way for about four hours before the sudden adjournment.

Thursday, Canadian Food Inspection Agency spokesperson JoAnne Ford in Guelph declined to comment on the court proceedings, as did Crown Attorney Frost. Montana Jones could not be reached for comment.

Jones, of Northumberland County, and Schmidt, of Grey County, are two of four people who have been charged in connection with the disappearance of 31 Shropshire sheep from a quarantined Northumberland County farm last year. The other two people charged are Suzanne Atkinson of Northumberland County and Robert Pinnell of Durham County.

All four face charges of conspiracy to commit obstruction of a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) inspector, to transport or cause to transport an animal under quarantine and conspiracy to defraud the public of a service over $5,000 under the Criminal Code along with obstructing a CFIA inspector and transport or causing to transport an animal under quarantine under the Health of Animals Act and Regulations.

Jones is also charged with obstructing a CFIA inspector under the Health of Animals Act.

Pinnell faces a further charge of attempting to obstruct justice and another for obstructing a police officer, both under the Criminal Code.

The judicial review matter will be addressed on November 29 in provincial court in Cobourg. BF

-- with files from Susan Mann