Pubdate: Thu, 11 Mar 2010
Source: Alberni Valley Times (CN BC)
Copyright: 2010 Alberni Valley Times
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouverisland/albernivalleytimes/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4043

JAFFER PLEA BARGAIN REEKS OF FAVOURITISM

If you're feeling like former Conservative Member of Parliament Rahim 
Jaffer got a sweet deal this week by pleading down to single count of 
dangerous driving, from impaired driving and possession of cocaine, 
you're not alone.

Instead of a one-year driving suspension and the minimum $1,000 for a 
first-time drunk driving conviction, and a permanent criminal record 
for cocaine possession, the reputed party animal, who lost his 
Edmonton seat in the last federal election, escapes with a $500 fine.

The light treatment, at the hands of an Ontario provincial court 
judge, smacks of a double standard. Critics have already pointed out 
the Conservatives' endless calls for stiffer penalties for convicted 
offenders. Now that one of their own has been hauled before the 
judge, there has been a legitimate perception that Jaffer, who is 
married to junior cabinet minister Helena Guergis, skated on the charges.

It's important to note that, as a first-time offender, Jaffer was 
never going to see the inside of a jail cell, either for drunk 
driving or for simple cocaine possession. But in Port Alberni 
provincial court, a defendant facing those charges would likely plead 
out to a lesser driving offence (usually driving without due care and 
attention) that carried the same minimum one-year suspension. The 
coke charge would be the joker in the deck.

Crown prosecutors don't like to get into impaired driving trials, 
which tend to fall into a familiar pattern. The defence typically 
picks away, in excruciating detail, at the arresting officer, to 
establish that police had absolutely no ground to detain their 
client. That strategy is consistent, even if the accused was 
apprehended after crashing into a lamppost with a bottle of Jack 
Daniels in his lap. It's time (and money) consuming, but if the 
client has the money for a good lawyer, that's what he or she gets, 
because if the case is argued long enough, there's often a hole in 
the case that's enough to establish reasonable doubt, ergo, acquittal.

By contrast, B.C. Liberal MLA Jane Thornthwaite, who was charged 
after being stopped at an RCMP road check last month, took, from the 
Crown's point of view, the A choice. She simply admitted guilt, 
entered an early guilty plea and will receive the minimum penalty, 
which is exactly the same as any other first-time offender. 
Thornthwaite has received the usual calls to resign as an MLA, and 
that is a legitimate thought. But it's not a requirement under B.C. 
law or Legislative tradition.

With his 2003 arrest and conviction for impaired driving in Hawaii, 
Premier Gordon Campbell made it difficult for his government to 
impose that sort of standard. For Campbell, the conviction wasn't a 
career-killer, and in fact, may have served to humanize him a bit, 
for some who considered him a little too remote or too judgmental.

But again, in this instance, the Premier suffered the indignity of 
the woozy-faced mug shot and took responsibility for his actions. One 
can imagine it's extremely unlikely he's going to get behind the 
wheel after drinking again.

Remember that Jaffer has little public reputation to protect at this 
point. One can imagine his approach was to file not guilty pleas and 
serve notice that he would fight the charges aggressively. That he 
was offered a plea bargain is not unusual. That the plea bargain 
offered was so much lighter than most defendants would receive is the 
real issue. And we expect there's going to be some hard questions 
directed at the Ontario court and the Conservative party over the 
next few weeks.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart