COVID-19 mandate protester's appeal set
Sean Patrick Kenney continues his crusade in the courts, claiming he was under duress when he admitted to violating the Emergency Measures Act and trespassing
A New Maryland who pleaded guilty to a pandemic isolation infraction and trespassing only to appeal those convictions days later will have his case heard in the spring.
Sean Patrick Kenney, 26, of Cortland Street, was fined a total of $960 on Nov. 10 when he pleaded guilty on an Emergency Measures Act (EMA) charge for failing to self-isolate when ordered to do so on May 5, 2021.
He also admitted to two instances of trespassing on the premises of the south-side Wal-Mart and the University of New Brunswick campus in Fredericton.
However, just days after he pleaded guilty and was sentenced, Kenney filed a handwritten notice of appeal with the Court of King’s Bench, claiming he agreed to plead guilty under duress.
At the Court of King’s Bench motions day Monday, Justice Thomas Christie confirmed the appeal hearing for May 17.
Kenney, who attended court with several supporters, said that date worked for him, as did Crown prosecutor Brian Munn.
When Kenney pleaded guilty Nov. 10, he had been scheduled to stand trial on those offences as well as two other EMA charges and another trespass ticket.
But on the day of trial, after discussions with Judge Natalie LeBlanc in open court and private talks with a Crown prosecutor, Kenney opted to plead guilty to the three charges.
Crown prosecutor Patricia Gillett withdrew the other three counts.
If Kenney succeeds in his appeal, the Crown will have the option to reinstate those withdrawn charges at a retrial.
Kenney has been an outspoken opponent to government-mandated restrictions due to the pandemic, and that’s brought him before the Fredericton courts on numerous occasions.
His first case was for an EMA charge for failing to wear a facemask in Wal-Mart in April 2021. He was convicted and fined after trial.
He appealed that conviction and sentence, but his appeal was dismissed.
Kenney and a fellow pandemic protester, Mitchell Albert of Dieppe, also filed a small-claim lawsuit last year against provincial court Judge Kenneth Oliver, seeking $3,000 in damages and orders barring him from presiding over their cases and those of their allies in the anti-mandate movement.
A small-claims adjudicator dismissed the case after Oliver’s counsel argued successfully that such court actions against judges are barred by the provisions of the Provincial Court Act.
Kenney and Albert have appealed that decision as well.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.