Judge not happy with Stephans’ delay
Couple says filing delayed due to move to Grande Prairie area
Ajudge is not happy with a former southern Alberta couple who have failed to file applications with the court that ultimately could help them with their retrial. David and Collet Stephen, convicted in 2016 of failing to provide their young son with the necessaries of life, were to have the applications filed a week ago, but Thursday during a hearing by closedcircuit TV in Lethbridge Court of Queen’s Bench, David said delays they encountered while moving to an area near Grande Prairie also delayed their applications. And while he thought he had until the day of the hearing Thursday to file the applications, he still hadn’t.
“You’re delaying the process,” an obviously upset Madam Justice E.A. Hughes told the couple.
“That’s not our intent,” David responded.
He added he was uncertain how to file the applications, and was relying on free help from a retired lawyer, but that lawyer had been ill, required an operation and had only recently been released from hospital.
The couple has until Tuesday to file the applications, including a Rowbotham application, which would allow the judge to order Legal Aid coverage for the new trial. They want to apply to have all their fees associated with the first trial paid for, as well, and previously told the judge they are broke and can’t afford to pay for the new trial ordered by the Supreme Court of Canada following their successful appeal.
The Stephans were also expected to have disclosure from the Crown’s office for the new trial, but they had not yet picked it up. David said his brother would pick up from Lethbridge.
David expressed concern during a hearing earlier in November about conditions the Crown has placed on releasing the information. He said he is worried conditions attached to the disclosure will prevent him from sharing the information with expert witnesses or others who may be able to help him raise a proper defence.
The Crown is concerned that David, who is a regular blogger, could release the information on social media sites. That, the Crown suggested, requires the disclosure include a trust condition.
Stephan also accuses the Crown and police of malfeasance, and insisted during the Nov. 8 hearing that some disclosure from the first trial was withheld, falsified and even destroyed.
The couple was found guilty following their original trial in 2016 of failing to provide the necessaries of life for their 19month-old son Ezekiel, who died of meningitis in 2012.
Court was told the Stephans treated their toddler with homemade remedies and didn’t take him to see a doctor when he became ill. On the night that Ezekiel stopped breathing they called 911, but he died later in hospital. The couple testified they assumed their son had a minor illness, which they could treat themselves, and at times the treatments seemed to work and he appeared to recover.
David received a four-month sentence in jail, while Collet was given three months of house arrest.
In the Supreme Court’s ruling, Justice Michael Moldaver explained the trial judge did not properly instruct jurors and he quashed the convictions and ordered a new trial. The Stephans, who were tried by a judge and jury in 2016, have elected to be tried by judge alone.
The new trial is set to run for four weeks beginning June 3, 2019. Pre-trial applications and a voir dire — which will be subject to a publication ban — are scheduled to be held Feb. 25 to March 8.
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