Anti-masker still awaiting Crown disclosure
Mitchell Noel Albert, 25, of Kintore, asked for adjournment of Aug. 1 trial on charges of obstruction, failure to attend court, but judge says it’s too soon to postpone it yet
An upper river valley man opposed to pandemic precautions says despite being told a month ago disclosure of his Crown file was imminent, he’s still waiting on the information.
Mitchell Noel Albert, 25, of Kintore near Perth-Andover, appeared in Fredericton provincial court Monday for a case-management appearance.
He’s scheduled to stand trial Aug. 1 on charges of obstructing city police Cpl. Frederic Loiseau on Jan. 22, 2022, and failing to attend provincial court April 22, 2022.
The trials had originally been scheduled for last month, but Judge Natalie LeBlanc granted an adjournment after learning that extensive sections of disclosure provided to him had been redacted by the police.
A prosecutor acknowledged June 20 that some information that should have been disclosed had been blacked out in the documentation, and court heard a newly vetted disclosure package would be sought from the Fredericton Police Force and provided to Albert about a week later.
But on Monday, four weeks after the additional disclosure was promised, Albert told Judge Scott Brittain that the Crown still hadn’t provided it.
Crown prosecutor Rodney Jordan said his office is still waiting for the police to provide the vetted information.
Albert asked for the trial to be adjourned again, noting he wouldn’t have time to prepare for the Aug. 1 proceeding.
“I’m still waiting on the disclosure so I can file the proper subpoenas,” he said.
Brittain said it was premature to postpone the trial again, so he suggested putting the matter over for another week to see if the disclosure is provided.
“I can’t afford to come back here next week,” Albert said, noting he also has obligations to be in court in Moncton next week as well.
Jordan said for the purpose of another management appearance, the Crown was OK with Albert appearing by telephone, which would eliminate the need for him to travel.
“I’d like to be in court in person,” the defendant said.
“You can’t have it both ways,” Brittain told him, reiterating he wasn’t going to adjourn the trial again just yet.
Albert said he would return to court in person next week, but only if the Crown or the court covered his expenses, but the judge told him that was a non-starter.
Brittain set the matter over to July 25, but he also expressed concern that the necessary disclosure still hadn’t been made by the Crown’s office.
“I hope we can get some answers on this,” the judge said.
The case against Albert arose as a result of his participation in a protest held at Fredericton city hall Jan. 22, 2022, against government-imposed pandemic restrictions such as masking and limits on gatherings.
The first charge alleges he obstructed a city police officer in the execution of his duty, though it doesn’t detail in what way.
After he was charged and the case was in provincial court, Albert butted heads with Judge Kenneth Oliver over his refusal to wear a facemask. Oliver required masking in his courtroom even after a provincial emergency order requiring it was lifted.
Albert wasn’t admitted to the courtroom April 22, 2022, as a result, which led to the no-show charge.
He and another defendant active in the movement against pandemic precautions, Sean Patrick Kenney, filed a small-claim lawsuit against the judge as a result, but an adjudicator dismissed it since it was barred by statute - namely, the Provincial Court Act.
They appealed that decision to the Court of King’s Bench, which upheld the adjudicator’s findings, and Albert has since sought leave to appeal that decision to the New Brunswick Court of Appeal.
No date has been set for that application to be heard as yet.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.
Why would the police be redacting anything. They have arrested him, charged him with a crime, and now they have to turn over all evidence, statements, witness statements to the defence and if we do not insist on this then our Justice and Legal system will be hiding this stuff so they have the best change to get a conviction. It is getting to the point where it might be time to sue the cities for these actions by police
I think these guys should be challenging the system. The system abuses process far too often without any accountability for the damage they improperly inflict.