Judge asked to clarify ban on publication of name
A Saskatoon provincial court judge was asked Friday to clarify the scope of publication bans imposed to shield the identity of a child that a 48-year-old Saskatoon woman is accused of kidnapping and fleeing with to the United States.
However, after more than two hours of submissions by Crown prosecutors, lawyers representing the woman and a lawyer representing the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the hearing was adjourned by Judge Morris Baniak.
The Crown had applied for a publication ban that applies to new charges laid against the woman by Saskatoon police last week.
The first publication ban, previously ordered by a Saskatoon provincial court judge, prevents publication or broadcast of “any information” that could identify the child. On Friday, a lawyer for the CBC sought clarification from the court as to whether “any information” in fact, would exclude the identity of the accused.
The woman was not physically present in court, but lawyers acting on her behalf appeared via telephone.
The woman was initially charged with parental abduction in contravention of a custody order and public mischief by Saskatoon police.
On Nov. 15, police laid additional charges of unlawfully procuring identity documents to be made and possessing them, forging a passport, providing a false statement in relation to a passport, possession of a forged passport, possession of forged documents, identity theft and identity fraud.
The CBC'S lawyer, Tess Layton, told the court the broadcaster's position is that the ban on publication and broadcast of “any information” that could identify the child should not extend to the name of the accused. She said they were not seeking to vary or change the ban, but just for clarification.
Crown prosecutor Lee Hnatiuk told the court that identifying the woman could lead to the identification of victims in the case, but felt the ban is clear enough.
Christine Mainville, who appeared on behalf of the woman, whose lawyer is Marie Henein, supported the court providing clarification about the ban that would exempt the name of the accused.
She told the court a publication ban on the woman's name means that activists and journalists can't raise the woman's case in relation to relevant social issues, and the woman isn't able to speak publicly and shed light on her own circumstances.
Baniak suggested the Crown could provide declarations made on behalf of minors involved in the case that he could consider.
The woman and the child were the focus of a two-week search that ended on Aug. 5 when both were found safe in Oregon City, Ore. The child returned to Saskatoon with a legal guardian on Aug. 7.
The woman was arrested and taken into custody in the U.S. and was later returned to Canada after a U.S. District Court in Oregon consented to her release to Canadian law enforcement.
The woman also faces charges in the U.S. of aggravated identity theft and identity theft for allegedly knowingly possessing identity documents belonging to someone else and using those to commit an unlawful act under local, state or federal law in the U.S.
She had been granted bail by a Saskatoon provincial court judge on Sept. 2, subject to electronic monitoring and several conditions during her release.
A publication ban was ordered on the evidence presented at her bail hearing as well as the judge's reasoning for the bail decision.
The case is next scheduled to be in Saskatoon provincial court on Tuesday.