Landlord gets new trial for assault case

A Langley man who was found guilty of assaulting a tenant has had his conviction overturned because the trial judge didn’t provide the proper assistance to the self-represented accused.

In June 2016, Provincial Court Judge Kimberley Arthur-Leung found Frederick Earl Wyatt guilty of the September 2013 aggravated assault of Charles Redfern.

The trial heard that Wyatt assaulted Redfern after aggressively complaining to Redfern about his failure to pay rent.

Wyatt pushed Redfern into a steel gate, causing Redfern to suffer a collapsed lung and broken ribs. He also threatened to kill Redfern if he called the police.

Noting that the attack was “completely unprovoked,” the judge sentenced Wyatt to two years less a day in prison to be followed by 18 months of probation.

But Wyatt, who represented himself at trial, appealed the convictions on the grounds that he did not receive sufficient assistance from the trial judge.

At the appeal, the Crown agreed with Wyatt that the judge did not provide the minimum level of help required for the accused to bring out his defence with its full force and effect, and agreed that the convictions should be set aside and a new trial ordered.

A three-judge panel of the B.C. Court of Appeal has agreed with the submissions of the Crown and defence and overturned the convictions.

In her ruling on the case, B.C. Court of Appeal Justice Susan Griffin noted that Wyatt’s lack of knowledge of the trial process was apparent from the beginning.

The accused seemed to mistakenly believe that if there was no witness to corroborate the victim’s version of events, that it would not be proven and the case against him would be dismissed, she noted.

He also indicated during the trial that he thought he could simply put into evidence a statement he gave the police which would “kill the case” against him, or that his denial of the offences would be in evidence, without the necessity of him testifying, she said.

Griffin said that trial judges have an obligation to provide minimal assistance to self-represented accused persons and failure to do so may result in an unfair trial.

Wyatt’s convictions were set aside and a new trial ordered.

Justice Mary Saunders and Justice Daphne Smith agreed with Griffin’s ruling.