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Carter on Trial
July 4, 2013 permalink
Charges against Chris Carter have come to trial. The case was not over in one day, as planned by the crown. Previous articles: [1] [2] [3].
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Chris Carter facing personation with intent, disobeying court order charges
Chris Carter, 46, walks out of the Chatham courthouse during a break in his trial on Wednesday July 3, 2013. Carter is charged with impersonation with intent and disobeying a court order after his arrest in February 2012 involving a matter with Chatham-Kent Children's Services.VICKI GOUGH, Daily NewsThe trial of a Canada Court Watch activist with sights on revamping the jurisdiction of Ontario's children's aid societies started in a Chatham courtroom on a respectfully combative note Wednesday.
Armed with shopping bags filled with files, Chris Carter, 46, is defending himself on a charge of personation with intent and one count of disobeying a court order.
Carter opened his remarks questioning why a different judge than he's had in previous court dates was presiding over his trial.
The accused then moved to have a publication ban, that prevents the publication of evidence until the trial is over, quashed.
Justice Paul Kowalyshyn went over court procedures to assist the accused and after reviewing Carter's verbal comments, agreed to hear his motion to dismiss the publication ban, before the commencement of his trial.
Carter was unsuccessful on both matters and the Crown called its first witness to give evidence-in-chief during the afternoon of what was supposed to be a one-day trial.
In previous publications, The Chatham Daily News reported Carter was charged in February 2012 for an incident on Feb. 6 at the Chatham-Kent Children's Services office.
He was arrested near where a group of protesters gathered on Grand Avenue during a demonstration rally organized by Canada Court Watch.
Carter had stated earlier that he aims to turn the minor charges against him into an opportunity to bring Ontario's child-protection system under the microscope.
Carter told court he expects to call a number of witnesses in his defence and will need two more days in court.
Source: Chatham Daily News
Addendum: Another delay.
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Trial for court activist continues
The trial of a Canada Court Watch activist with sights on revamping the jurisdiction of Ontario's children's aid societies will continue next Thursday.
Chris Carter, 46, is defending himself on a charge of personation with intent and one count of disobeying a court order.
In previous publications, The Chatham Daily News reported Carter was charged in February 2012 for an incident on Feb. 6 at the Chatham-Kent Children's Services office.
He was arrested near where a group of protesters gathered on Grand Avenue West during a demonstration rally organized by Canada Court Watch.
Carter had stated earlier that he aims to turn the minor charges against him into an opportunity to bring Ontario's child protection system under the microscope.
He said Ontario is the only province in which the provincial ombudsman has no authority to investigate complaints against children's aid societies.
Carter said more than 1,200 people signed a petition in Chatham asking that the authority of the provincial ombudsman be expanded to include complaint investigations involving children's services.
Source: Chatham Daily News
Addendum: Chris Carter appeared in court on January 10, 2014. The Chatham Daily News reported it the next day in the print edition, but not on the internet.
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Judge dismisses court activist Carter's motions
An Ontario Court judge dismissed several motions entered by a Canada Court Watch activist in Chatham court Friday.
Christopher Carter, 46, has stated during his trial on charges of personation with intent and one count of disobeying a court order that he wishes to turn the offences against him into an opportunity to bring Ontario's child protection system under the microscope.
The judge ruled the motions were overly broad and had no relevance to the criminal proceedings.
"Third-party records cannot be turned into evidence gathering tools for defence," Justice Paul Kowalyshyn said.
Carter, who is self-represented, was seeking documents from Chatham-Kent Children's Services, the Chatham-Kent Police Service, Waterloo Regional Police and many other agencies that may or may not have had discussions about him.
The judge did make an order for the court to receive two-and-a-half pages of notes and an e-mailed document made by a child-care worker about Carter by Jan. 24 and a decision would be made by Feb, 5 whether the documents could be given to the defendant.
The trial was set to resume on Apr. 22.
Source: private communication
