Top court denies jury trial for man facing Legacy fraud charges

Potential sentence of five years less a day falls short of the five-year requirement

He may be facing up to a $5-million fine and nearly five years behind bars, but Calgarian Ronald James Aitkens isn’t entitled to a jury trial, the nation’s top court ruled Friday.

In a brief written decision, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld an Alberta Court of Appeal ruling denying Aitkens the right to a jury trial.

“The appeal is dismissed,” the Supreme Court judges said in a judgment posted online. “We conclude that the appellant was not entitled to a trial by jury, substantially for the reasons of the majority of the (Alberta) Court of Appeal.”

In December, 2015, the province’s top court, in a 2-1 decision, upheld a ruling by then-provincial court Judge Robin Camp refusing to find Aitkens potential punishment entitled him to a jury trial.

Under the Charter, anyone facing “imprisonment for five years, or a more severe punishment” is entitled to a jury trial if they want one.

Aitkens faces charges under the Alberta Securities Act, which allows for a maximum punish- ment of five years less a day in jail and a fine of up to $5 million. He’s charged with five counts of breaches of securities laws, including fraud, in connection with the sale of Legacy Communities Inc. securities.

Defence counsel Brendan Miller had argued before Camp that Aitkens should be afforded the Charter right to a jury trial.

Miller said a sentence of 24 hours less than a full five years, coupled with a fine of up to $5 million, together constitute a punishment more severe than half-a-decade behind bars.

Miller noted that his client could be ordered to serve time in default of any fines not paid, making his potential jeopardy greater than a five-year prison term.

And he suggested the one-day less than five years was a technicality used by the provincial Legislature when it established the maximum penalties, to get around Aitkens’ Charter right to a jury.

But Camp disagreed, saying the province was entitled to pass laws as it saw fit.

“In my view the Alberta Legislature was entitled to look at a situation and take measures to adapt its laws accordingly,” the judge wrote.

The province’s top court agreed, in dismissing appeals by Aitkens and two Edmonton men, saying the legislation was specifically designed to avoid jury trials.

“The maximum penalty of five years less a day found in the Securities Act was deliberately chosen to avoid jury trials of complex securities prosecutions,” two of the three judges concluded.

Aitkens is scheduled to stand trial in April, 2018.

The maximum penalty of five years less a day was ... chosen to avoid jury trials of complex securities prosecutions.