Monday, July 24, 2006

 

Now ... a little quiz. When to bail and when to jump ship.

Didn't you always think that when a citizen is arrested and charged with a crime, he/she goes straight to jail to await trial?

So here's the question. Was Dave Basi ever put in jail? Was Bobby Virk? Was Aneal Basi? Even for 5 minutes? I don't think so. Yet, as far as I know, the only legal way for an alleged felon to avoid seeing the inside of a jail is to pay a whack of money commonly known as BAIL.

So the next question is: did Basi, Virk, or Basi pay bail? Did Basi, Duncan, or Young also put up bail in return for their temporary freedom pending their trials? Don't think so. But if they did put up bail, how much was it? Who paid? Were there conditions attached to granting their freedom? And how the heck do citizens find out about these issues of public interest?

Here's what opened my eyes: on 20 July, most of the unhappy people I saw in Court Room 101 were either escorted in by a prison guard; or they were shown on a video link from a correctional centre. It suddenly got me wondering where, exactly, did Dave Basi fit into this picture. Even this ALR charge under File 134750-1-D involved a significant sum -- $50,000 -- as well as the "Breach of trust by a public officer" which is of serious concern to the citizens of Sooke. So where was Basi? On the beach?

Or, stated differently, isn't Dave Basi walking free, going about his life almost as if nothing had happened, as if on vacation? Buried deep in these questions is the larger question: is the public interest being served, or ignored?? What about our need to know and to safeguard our province?

Does the law go limp in some cases, but not in others? Surely not. But what, if anything, is stopping Basi from buying a one-way ticket to a faraway place with an unpronouncable name, to live happily ever after?

Comments:
Very good point (as usual) Mary! I remember when I was having my own battles with the Justice Department in the Excited Snakes of Amerika I was told that "in the halls of Justice, the only Justice is in the halls."

In other words the courtroom proceedings are all show while members of that powerful "union" - the bar - (of which the proscecutors, defense counsel and judges are all paid up to date dues paying members) turn the wheels of "justice" in the hallway or over drinks.

Here in BC of course they don't even pretend to dispense justice and the public's right to know just about anything is non-existent.

I wonder how the crown proscecutors' case against Gordo's gang is going?
 
I thought the Special Prosecutor in Basi-Virk was Glen Clark's lawyer in the scandalous 'deck' case. The thought of which makes me even more paranoid.
 
I think David Gibbons was Glen Clark's lawyer and he has passed on.
 
Yeah, yeah....William Bernadino, who evidently worked in the same law office as Geoff Plante at one time, was appointed Special Prosecutor...by the Solicitor General, of all people...Hey, I haven't had a cigarette for two weeks, six days, and six and a half hours. I'm bound to mess up...

anonymous 453
 
No mea culpas necessary, anonymous.

Good luck on kicking the cigarette thing...I did notice you didn't mention how many "minutes" since you had one so that's definitely a sign that you've crossed the Rubicon ;-)

Right with you on the paranoia on the Basi-Virk case, no matter who the Special Prosecutor is.
 
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