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Man Prevented from Recording Court

April 11, 2006 permalink

On April 6, 2006 David Sykes was prevented from entering the Brampton Courthouse with a recording device (pdf link). This despite a law specifically permitting a party to record his own case.

Ontario Courts of Justice Act

136 (2) (b) Nothing in subsection (1), prohibits a lawyer, a party acting in person or a journalist from unobtrusively making an audio recording at a court hearing, in the manner that has been approved by the judge, for the sole purpose of supplementing or replacing handwritten notes.

According to Canada Court Watch, the clause about manner approved by the judge allows the judge to control disruption by massive recording equipment. Today's tiny devices cannot be disruptive.

Source: Canada Court Watch

Addendum: More from Canada Court Watch:

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Judges can do a good job (when they want to)

(May 1, 2006) Today, Court Watch reporters attended a Brampton, Ontario court presided by Justice O'Connor in follow up to a complaint that security officers at the Brampton court had threatened to arrest a citizen for bringing a recording device into the court building as is legally permitted. After the party sent a complaint letter to the chief of police in Peel, the party was allowed to pass security on this day with his recording device without incident.

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