Who is Throwing Mud in Your Eye?

"I don't want it to appear as though we're picking on Mr. Tran", said Sgt. Gord Eriksson to a reporter in August 2009. "The fact he is constantly arrested and re-arrested is his doing, not ours."

http://www.calgarysun.com/news/alberta/2009/08/26/10614291-sun.html

This comment was delivered in response to yet another allegation of breaching release conditions by alleged gangster, Jackie Tran. Of course, what the informed citizen knows is that Mr. Tran was properly exonerated of those breaches, thus begging the question whether the local pariah was actually responsible for his own doing.

http://andjusticeforall-calgary.blogspot.com/2009/08/police-spokespersons-have.html

Adding to the public smear campaign in Tran’s most recent court skirmish, Canada Boarder Services has now apparently decided to stoop to the ridiculous in an effort to convince the court and the public that Tran is a danger to the community. That is the only way to characterize the allegation by Canada Border Services Officer Pete Strathakos that Tran is a danger because he was cited for a bylaw infraction for “splashing ducks” whilst rafting down the Bow River.

http://www.calgarysun.com/news/alberta/2009/09/03/10729776-sun.html

Now I really like ducks – as I do all animals – but you have got to be kidding!

Sadly, from reading various commentaries, stooping to the ridiculous has actually had an impact upon some Canadians, including Calgary Sun columnist Rick Bell.

http://www.calgarysun.com/news/columnists/rick_bell/2009/09/03/10729786-sun.html

Now, just for a moment, let me speak seriously on this issue. I am not saying Tran should not be deported. After all, he has a 2004 conviction for trafficking drugs, for which I understand he served a penitentiary sentence. Fairly interpreting the Canadian rules supports the conclusion that he is a candidate for deportation. But in our society, we operate by the rule of law. We allow people to make their case so that a fair and meaningful decision can be made. To do otherwise is to advocate for an arbitrary system of justice, premised upon the irrational rather than a reasonable application of rules that exist to protect the interests of all Canadians; not just alleged bad guys.

What makes our civilization special is the manner in which we enforce our criminal law. For it is easy to listen to overly dramatic remarks by public officials, such as law enforcement officers, and to conclude that the person they say is the bad guy is indeed a bad guy. But as I have said over and over and over again, people in this country have been wrongly convicted. Wrongly convicted on allegations driven by over zealous law enforcement! With this in mind, I suspect some people have even been wrongly deported.

True justice demands that all reasonable steps are taken to ensure the wrong outcome does not happen.

In Mr. Tran’s case, I grow skeptical that anybody other than Mr. Tran, Mr. Sharma and those applying the law have any real interest in seeing that justice is truly done. Admittedly, I am cynical person. But when I read comments from law enforcement officers such as Sgt. Eriksson; and when I read submissions by hearing officers, such as Mr. Strathakos that Tran is a danger because he splashed a duck while floating down the river, I grow more convinced that these groups will stoop to all levels to achieve an agenda.

In Mr. Tran’s case, Lady Justice demands more of her angels than merely alleging the devil threw mud in someone’s eye.

David G. Chow
Calgary Criminal Lawyer
MOLLE CHOW & KISS

www.calgarydefence.com