Cameras denied for Graham James sentencing
CBC News
Posted: Mar 19, 2012 9:38 AM CT
Last Updated: Mar 19, 2012 3:38 PM CT
Graham James walks out of a building connected to the Law Courts in Winnipeg in February. He has taken great efforts to hide his face from photographers. (Trevor Hagan/Canadian Press)
Media outlets will not be allowed to bring TV cameras into the Graham James sentencing on Tuesday in Winnipeg.
Provincial court Judge Catherine Carlson on Monday denied a request by media outlets to bring cameras into the sentencing of the former junior hockey coach and convicted sex offender.
Carlson said the case has become one of extraordinary public interest and she understands most people will not be able to attend in person.
'The courtroom is highly-charged enough. It’s not going to become a spectacle'—Judge Catherine Carlson
However, she said, bringing cameras into the courtroom raises too many concerns, such as manipulation of the video after it hits the internet and risks of re-victimizing the victims.
"The courtroom is highly-charged enough. It’s not going to become a spectacle," Carlson said, adding the coverage could bring the case to the “brink of sensationalism.”
The media has a vital role to play in a democratic society but having a camera in the courtroom "adds little to the administration of justice," she said.
Lawyers and officials with the CBC, the Winnipeg Free Press, CTV and Global had appeared before Carlson on Friday to make their case.
Media lawyer Bob Sokalski told Carlson that having cameras in the court is a way to allow the public to see what happens. People across Canada have a vested interest in watching the proceeding, he said.
Safety fears
James's lawyers have said he fears for his safety if pictures or reproductions of his image are widely disseminated through television, print media or the internet. A lawyer for the Manitoba government also argued against the cameras, saying they would amount to "complete voyeurism" and could threaten the safety and privacy of court staff and judges.
James is set to be sentenced on two counts of sexual assault.
He pleaded guilty in December to sexually assaulting former NHL star Theoren Fleury and Todd Holt, Fleury's younger cousin, while coaching them in the junior hockey ranks during the 1980s and early '90s.
The Crown is seeking a six-year prison term on James's latest charges.
The defence wants a conditional sentence with no jail time. A conditional sentence of 12 to 18 months would include a curfew, monitoring and counselling.
Share Tools
Latest Manitoba News Headlines
- Trust at Winnipeg city hall falls over golf course plan
- Some say the debate over privatizing and selling municipal golf courses is having a serious impact on trust at Winnipeg's city hall. more »
- Winnipeg’s gay community welcomes easing of blood ban
- Manitoba's gay and bisexual community is applauding a move by Canadian Blood Services to ease restrictions who want to donate blood. But Jonathan Niemczak said the battle for equality isn't over yet. more »
- Discarded chairs, sofas, push risk of arson up
- Some residents say piles of garbage in the city's back lanes are a fire hazard. more »
- Kids of MANFF officials paid for mileage, overtime
- The agency in charge of disbursing federal money to 2011 flood evacuees paid thousands of dollars in overtime and mileage expenses –in some cases, to a senior official or the children of senior officials, CBC News has learned. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- 2nd suspect in Tim Bosma case charged with 1st-degree murder
- Mark Smich of Oakville, Ont., is formally charged with first-degree murder in the death of Tim Bosma, the Hamilton man who disappeared earlier this month after taking two men on a test drive of his truck. Smich's arrest follows the first-degree murder charge against Dellen Millard of Toronto. more »
- U.K. attack suspects were focus of past security probes
- WARNING: This story contains graphic content. Two men accused of butchering a British soldier had featured in previous investigations by security services, a British official said, as investigators tried to determine whether the men were part of a wider radical Islamic plot. more »
- Neil Macdonald: Harper no Obama when it comes to dealing with scandals
- Beset by three so-called scandals at the moment, Barack Obama has been meeting his accusers and the press head on, Neil Macdonald writes. The same cannot be said for how Stephen Harper operates. more »
- Needed: New approaches to defuse 'suicide contagion' among teens
- Mental health experts say we need to find new ways to refer to and discuss suicide, particularly now that a large medical study has confirmed that teens are more susceptible to the idea if they know a schoolmate who died that way. more »
- Man in chained-teen case pleads guilty to sex assault, kidnapping
- A man accused of chaining up a teenager and sexually assaulting him last fall at a home in rural Nova Scotia has pleaded guilty to some of the charges against him. more »
- 2 killed in semi crash on Trans-Canada
- Senior gets wrong meds, ends up on life support
- Winnipeg's tallest highrise to go up at Graham, Garry
- Gretna border closed as North Dakota grapples with flood
- Discarded chairs, sofas, push risk of arson up
- Emterra crew dumps trash, recycling in same truck
- Man dies after car plunges into Winnipeg pond
- Winnipeg’s gay community welcomes easing of blood ban
- Board member resigns from native fire fighters association
Teddy Bears' Picnic
