Latest news with #CindaDoyle
National Post
27-06-2025
- National Post
Alberta judge facing a complaint after jailing a pregnant woman who showed up late for court
A central Alberta judge is facing a judicial complaint after jailing a pregnant woman who showed up late for court. Article content Earlier this month, Edmonton defence lawyer Samantha Labahn asked the Alberta Judicial Council to review the actions of Justice Gordon Hatch, a Court of Justice judge in the court's central region. Article content At issue is Hatch's decision to briefly jail Labahn's client, Cinda Doyle, who arrived late to her preliminary inquiry earlier this year on charges of income assistance fraud. Doyle was 36 weeks pregnant and intended to arrive on time but relied on others for rides to the Wetaskiwin courthouse, Labahn said. Article content Article content Doyle arrived a few minutes after Hatch issued a warrant for her arrest. While Hatch ultimately re-released her, he did so only after the day's proceedings, over protests from the defence. Article content Article content Labahn called Hatch's actions 'punitive' and 'vindictive,' and suggested they were part of a pattern among certain central Alberta judges that includes last year's controversial jailing of an Edmonton defence lawyer. Article content '(My client) is a very vulnerable person, not even including the fact that she's extremely pregnant,' she said. 'This is somebody who is not financially independent. This is somebody with addiction issues.' Article content 'She just has barriers, which a lot of people in Wetaskiwin and around those areas have, and (Hatch) knows that, which is why it's particularly jarring.' Article content Article content The Crown withdrew charges against Doyle the following month. Article content Article content Doyle was charged with defrauding more than $5,000 from income assistance programs between 2018 and 2021. She faced a preliminary hearing on the allegations in Wetaskiwin last Feb. 10-11. Article content By Hatch's estimate, Doyle was around an hour late on the first day of the hearing. She apologized and blamed snowy road conditions. Doyle was also a minute late, by Labahn's estimate, when court resumed after a break. Hatch warned Doyle twice, telling her she could be detained for arriving late. Article content The next morning, Hatch opened court around 9:30 a.m. and issued an arrest warrant after determining Doyle was not in the courthouse. Article content 'If she arrives in the next 15 minutes, she is to be taken into custody, and we will continue the preliminary inquiry in that fashion,' Hatch told a sheriff, calling Doyle an 'absconding accused.' Article content Doyle arrived around 9:42 a.m., Labahn said, upset and afraid she would be sent to the remand centre. Prior to Doyle's arrival, Labahn and the Crown prosecutor agreed she could be re-released under the same conditions, but Hatch refused to hear the application until after the day's proceedings. Hatch said Doyle 'chose' to be late, and gave no indication he would ultimately agree to release her.
National Post
27-06-2025
- National Post
Alberta judge facing a complaint after jailing a pregnant woman who showed up late for court.
A central Alberta judge is facing a judicial complaint after jailing a pregnant woman who showed up late for court. Article content Earlier this month, Edmonton defence lawyer Samantha Labahn asked the Alberta Judicial Council to review the actions of Justice Gordon Hatch, a Court of Justice judge in the court's central region. Article content At issue is Hatch's decision to briefly jail Labahn's client, Cinda Doyle, who arrived late to her preliminary inquiry earlier this year on charges of income assistance fraud. Doyle was 36 weeks pregnant and intended to arrive on time but relied on others for rides to the Wetaskiwin courthouse, Labahn said. Article content Article content Doyle arrived a few minutes after Hatch issued a warrant for her arrest. While Hatch ultimately re-released her, he did so only after the day's proceedings, over protests from the defence. Article content Article content Labahn called Hatch's actions 'punitive' and 'vindictive,' and suggested they were part of a pattern among certain central Alberta judges that includes last year's controversial jailing of an Edmonton defence lawyer. Article content '(My client) is a very vulnerable person, not even including the fact that she's extremely pregnant,' she said. 'This is somebody who is not financially independent. This is somebody with addiction issues.' Article content 'She just has barriers, which a lot of people in Wetaskiwin and around those areas have, and (Hatch) knows that, which is why it's particularly jarring.' Article content Article content The Crown withdrew charges against Doyle the following month. Article content Article content Doyle was charged with defrauding more than $5,000 from income assistance programs between 2018 and 2021. She faced a preliminary hearing on the allegations in Wetaskiwin last Feb. 10-11. Article content By Hatch's estimate, Doyle was around an hour late on the first day of the hearing. She apologized and blamed snowy road conditions. Doyle was also a minute late, by Labahn's estimate, when court resumed after a break. Hatch warned Doyle twice, telling her she could be detained for arriving late. Article content The next morning, Hatch opened court around 9:30 a.m. and issued an arrest warrant after determining Doyle was not in the courthouse. Article content 'If she arrives in the next 15 minutes, she is to be taken into custody, and we will continue the preliminary inquiry in that fashion,' Hatch told a sheriff, calling Doyle an 'absconding accused.' Article content Doyle arrived around 9:42 a.m., Labahn said, upset and afraid she would be sent to the remand centre. Prior to Doyle's arrival, Labahn and the Crown prosecutor agreed she could be re-released under the same conditions, but Hatch refused to hear the application until after the day's proceedings. Hatch said Doyle 'chose' to be late, and gave no indication he would ultimately agree to release her.
