Hearings resume at 09390 hours (9:30 am) this morning, Monday, 08 December 2008. Retired Detective Inspector Pat Hall will take the stand to resume his examination-in-chief and then commence cross-examination.
Witnesses scheduled for the week are as follows:
Detective Inspector Pat Hall (retired) – Ontario Provincial Police
Deputy Commissioner Chris Lewis – Ontario Provincial Police
Lynn Robinson, Assistant Crown Attorney – Ministry of the Attorney GeneralClaudette Wilhelm, Assistant Crown Attorney – Ministry of the Attorney General
A pretty heavy schedule 🙂
Tick. Tock
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A busy weekend for me – no time to do more than get Friday’s transcript and one Freeholder article posted. I had two other articles ready to put up and will get that done now.
Lots of time to think though 🙂 The “wilful” non-disclosure business at the Leduc “trial” has been rumbling through my mind.
Something really smells there. I had always felt that the OPP stabbed Crown attorney in the back on that one. I am now convinced more than ever. The trouble is the while thing is so convoluted I can’t yet put it together succinctly to show just how badly it smells!
I looked back over my last blog on the matter. A bit of a mess. Apologies. I tried to touch on the mess without all the data at my finger tips. I think in the long run all I did was create confusion.
I really do need and want to get at the Leduc trial transcripts which I have on hand but, – time. I just don’t have to time. Frustrating. Not the way I am used to doing things. I like time to pore through documents and I just can’t get it.
But, lots of time to think.
A few fledgling thoughts on the non-disclosure mess:
(1) There were two sets of documents not disclosed to defence at the Leduc trial: (1) Perry Dunlop’s Will State and possibly some notes, and (2) Joe Dupuis’s notes referencing the visit to C-16’s home when Perry happened to call C-16’s mother back to see how she was doing.
Project Truth officers were familiar with Perry’s Will State. They also knew of C-16’s call to Perry and Perry’s call back to see how she was. The latter was noted in Dupuis’ notebook. The former was known to them and hand been discussed.
Shelley Hallett had also seen Perry’s Will State. She had access to it when she went through nine boxes of materials in relation to her disclosure obligations to Father Charles MacDonald. Hallett did not know that Perry had any connections to the Leduc trial. No one had told her. Nor had she seen Dupuis’ notes – the OPP hadn’t disclosed them to her. Because she knew nothing of the mother-Perry contact she was not, she said, thinking Leduc at all when she went through the nine boxes. Hallett testified on 14 February 2001 she went through the materials in a “cursory” fashion.
(2) Does it make any difference in the long run whether or not defence alleged “wilful” non disclosure by the OPP or wilful non-disclosure by the Crown? I haven’t thought that one all the way through, but I am inclined to think it did. Had the defence allegation remained one of wilful non-disclosure by the OPP the Crown, Hallett, would have continued to argue as she had already done that it was not wilful. She would without doubt have argued that it was an inadvertent oversight on Dupuis’ behalf and certainly not wilful.
Was that fact or fiction? Is it possible OPP Project Truth officers did indeed wilfully withhold Dupuis’ notes?
I don’t know.
And were it fact that it was inadvertent would that have washed with the thoroughly conflicted Justice Colin McKinnon?
(3) When Leduc’s defence morphed the allegations against the OPP Project Truth officers into allegations of wilful non-disclosure against Hallett, there was no one but Hallett to argue on her behalf! I don’t see nay indication that the OPP made any effort whatsoever to show defence that Hallett’s non disclosure was inadvertent. To the contrary. The PT officers seemed bent on setting up a scenario which implied wilful non-disclosure by the Crown.
(4) I believe Hallett would have wanted to defend the OPP’s non-disclosure of Dupuis’ notes not only because she wanted to defend Dupuis and the the PT officers but because she knew that to do otherwise would mean there was a strong possibility Leduc would “walk.” And she did not want to see Leduc walk.
The OPP officers would have known that taking the steps which they took to shift the focus onto Hallett entailed the strong possibility that Leduc would “walk.” They carried right along.
(5) The way the morphing unfolded made it appear that Hallett didn’t want defence to know she had ever laid eyes on Perry’s Will State and had deliberately with-held a documents which proved otherwise. Days earlier Hallett had told the court she had seen the Will State. Project Truth officers were there and heard Hallett. McKinnon heard her. Leduc heard her. Leduc’s “dream team” heard her.
(6) As a result of this mess, Leduc “walked,” Hallett apparently felt she could no longer work with Pat Hall, Hallett pulled out of Father Charlie’s case, a new Crown had to be called in for Charlie, Charlie eventually walked claiming his right to a speedy trial had been violated.
They’re on. I must watch and listen,
Enough for now,
Sylvia
Sylvia – I have only been able to catch the testimony in spurts this morning – what was the issue they wrapped up on just prior to the lunch break???
I missed it….and it seemed to be a “hot” issue.
In My Opinion, Detective Inspector Pat Hall is a total disgrace and embarrassment to all police agencies. This is completely disgusting. He deliberately and with impunity, evades and convolutes everything. A two year old child has more credibility in disclosing factually. Unfortunately, this has been recurring with many witnesses “OF AUTHORITY” at this “Glaude Inquiry”.
Detective Inspector Pat Hall should get a Dr.’s note for the balance of his testimony….
And, he takes a break when he sees fit. IS ANYONE WATCHING??
IS ANYONE watching this today? I mean, how brutally obvious is it?….This guy cannot or will not give a direct answer. HE convolutes EVERTHING!! Absolutely brutal!!!This is a Detecive Inspector, who was purporting to be “protecting us all”, in the day, so-to-speak!!!
Among other disgraceful, ignorant, assertions, Det. Insp. Pat Hall arrogantly, testifies that if an accused sexual predator is convicted of sexual abuse charges in Quebec, it means nothing in Ontario and does not require investigation…..hello!! What the “heck” is wrong here?? Detective Inspector Hall, yes, “Detective Inspector”, implies a pedophile can only really be defined as a pedophile if he/she is criminally convicted. Fat chance….Ontario and Canada is more interested in mediation, negotiation, mitigation and shared responsibility, than ever convicting anyone….except Perry Dunlop, of course and jailing him for what was really a “summary conviction” offence.
Is Detective Inspector Pat Hall a complete idiot OR is he trying to justify/rationalize his past and current behaviours, through DEVIANT MEANS? DEVIANCE!!!
Dear God…..give me the strength!!
Could you imagine what really could be disclosed and revealed with an aggressive, assertive, “Neville or Sherriff-Scott” type person cross-examining witnesses, to elicit the unmitigated, unmanipulated, facts.
HOW OBVIOUS IS IT????…and what to do?? Nothing can be done……this is what is so frustrating. The “system” has determined where the “Glaude Inquiry” will go, for “the greater good”, as is interpreted and defined, by the current “rulers-powers that be”!!!
AND, the equally disturbing “defense lawyers” are on their feet repeatedly “arguing” in an arrogant, impolite fashion. Furthermore, Commissioner Glaude is backed into a corner, reiterating, “no one is being found guilty or innocent”, “we are not deciding the truth or otherwise”, “we just want to see how institutions responded.”….MY GOD…give me the strength!!!
What if evidence leaks out revealing who “turns the moon on and off”; so-to-speak, of course,….do we just ignore it OR do we continue to attempt to AVOID everything and WALK AROUND, the facts….the truth,even when it is obvious, the truth so desperately wants to SPEAK OUT on its own!!! Isn’t it true…so often the truth comes to the surface, but, quickly, dirt is spread over it, “covering it up”.
IS anyone with any “clout” watching this? “Holy doopers!!
What can we do? Nothing!!
What they’ve been going about RealityChecker is the contents of the Crown brief on the conspiracy allegations and also the “investigation” into the conspiracy allegations. Important? Yes indeed.
By the sound of it “they” were very selective in what materials were included and/or excluded in the brief. As for the “investitigation” “they” failed to view or treat suspects as suspects, and it never crossed Hall’s mind to look at Leduc in a different light from a conspiracy perspective after Leduc was charged with sexual abuse of young males.
All sickening.
As you say prima facie: ” Dear God, give me strength.”
I can not beleive what I am hearing.
When Glaude writes his report his first para should be urging a truly independent impartial judicial inquiry into allegations of a paedophile ring and cover-up, and the out of province judge should be vested with power to lay criminal charges where warranted.
Hall’s comments give me the distinct impression that at least he thought the allegations of a ring and cover-up were a bit of a lark – not worth getting excited about and certainly not worth expending manpower and energy on.
The allegations of a paedophile ring and cover-up have never been properly, objectivley and impartially investigated by an independent body. Whoever drafted the mandate for the AG and Premier McGuinty took pains to ensure Justice Glaude’s inquiry is not mandated to do the job. And here we are. What a convoluted mess.
Now it sounds for all the world like Hall is an apologist for Cornwall Police Service -Perry Dunlop had it all wrong; CPS did no wrong.
Have you ever heard such convoluted thinking?
MY OPINION:
Again, on this afternoon, December 08, 2008 at apprx. 1450 hrs…listen to this complete disgrace. Det. Insp. Pat Hall, convolutes simple testimony. Simple yes or no responses to questions are turned into lengthy, unrelated “walks down empty alleys”, without even addressing the original question. Do “they” really think we are all complete illiterates or are “they” trying to force us to “raise the roof” at the inquiry with protests? I mean….REALLY!!!
LISTEN TO THIS!!!
LISTEN TO THIS!!!….and nothing will be done.
Is this part of “healing and reconciliation?
In my opinion, at least this “joker” is on the record. In addition to other tasks, this obvious, grandiose, narcissistic, witness must be challenged by a competent, independent, judicial inquiry.
Detective Inspector Pat Hall was very important in “managing” the “Project Truth” files. LISTEN TO THE testimony today!!
Let me add this; at least all the alleged victims and other civilian witnesses responded openly and directly. The alleged victims, etc., mentioned above, were clear at answering the questions one way or the other….or…they openly declared they would not testify.
To the contrary, in my opinion, the trained, experienced, professional, Detective Inspector Pat Hall, is obviously attempting to “corrupt” every sentence beyond sensible understanding. It is obvious Pat Hall is deliberately ambiguous, nebulous and answering out of context.
I mean, there is no other explanation is there! Could a person like Detecive Inspector Pat Hall actually be illiterate himself or be unable to articulate one complete sentence? OR….is there some other explanation?
Just bloody awful!!
….and as has been the case throughout the “Glaude Inquiry”, the “lapdog, mainstream news media” investigates nothing, suspects nothing and to the most part, reports only, insignificant mumbo-jumbo.
1600hrs: Oh here comes the lovely, Helen Daley, lawyer for “CCR”, (see her website picture). Helen Daley and the “CCR” team, seem only interested in attacking the Carson Chisholm types for spreading, so-called, “rumour and innuendo” and badmouthing Dunlop. (…is there a bad history here?)
It seems to me, Helen Daley is just the “dance partner”, so-to-speak, Detective Inspector Hall has been hoping for…dancing to the same tune?!
Let’s see if she asks him to dance or plays “hard to get” on this trip to the dance floor…..
Somehow this “CCR” group got lost..what happened and when did it happen? I mean, do they really represent the voice of the majority of Cornwall citizen’s or of just those “retired” three people, who have spent every day for the past three years, gasping, nodding and sleeping, in the camera-shot. “WE’RE HERE…EVERYONE..WE’RE HERE!!!”…( must be difficult. What about meds and meals on time?)
And talking about the “lovely Helen Daley”, where has the “Nutty Professor” gone?
Sylvia,
In my opinion you are doing an admirable job trying to elucidate what is an intensely complicated situation.
Pat Hall seems to me the least credible witness since Claude Shaver.
Hall’s convolutions might be to protect higher-ups. It makes sense that at least a digest of the so-called Fantino brief went to the provincial cabinet and their first business was to protect themselves by buying silence from the victims of the extraordinarily corrupt ring that had infected the Cornwall probation office. The “investigation” would limp along until critical gag order settlements were in place. The taxpayer gets to pay for the silence but does not get truth nor justice which sees the cases lost to time limits.
Some highlights:
The break-in at the Project Truth offices. Hard to believe he could quibble about whether this was a break-in; after all, they only removed ceiling tiles from the room below! Good grief. Hall’s lack of suspicion is suspicious in itself.
Ms. Robataille expressed concern that “the underlying sub-text to the question may mislead the public”. One can almost hear the collective groan from the “public”. I wonder if the Commitioner rolled his eyes. What would be the “underlying subtext” of this question:
Mr. Hall: Yes Yes.
Mr E: And there may have been other material in there that may have been interesting to you with regard to your broader investigation
Mr H: Yes
Mr E: if I can call it that.
(p. 123/260 Dec4)
The “broader investigation” indeed, all trees no forest!
Or, regarding Hall’s notebook entry on June 17, 1998 regarding Dupuis’ (irrelevent) information:
Mr. E: ..and then after that it’s blacked out.
If Hall had reported to a superior, ultimately at that time Jim Flaherty who ran both the AG and Corrective Services from Apr. 27-July 27 1998, or CSIS, then that is where the note would be. But “it’s blacked out.”
There you go.
It’s all in the “underlying subtext” unless Glaude set it up just to see the expression on Hall’s face.
It seems as the Cornwall saga developed it overlapped with women appearing in jobs which had once been entirely male preserves. That the female policeman and the female prosecutor may have been convenient scapegoats for the willful blindness of the “old boy’s club” is certainly a possibility. As they say, the only alternative to conspiracy theory is coincidence theory.
Pat Hall claims that he was never in Cornwall or Stormont County for that matter prior to the Project Truth Investigations. As testimony rolls on I find that to be highly unlikely. Has anyone else been wondering about his connections?
Well, well, well….here we have a so-called inspector, head of Project Truth no less, who has verbal vomit. This guy, Hall is a mastermind at manipulating questions and answers….nobody, but, nobody can get a word in edgewise! His lengthy BS is putting a wee bit of a strain on the Glaude’s time line, don’t you think?
AND…woe is me! He states he has had to cancel vacation time and put his life on hold for this inquiry??? What about Perry Dunlop’s life being put on hold for 7 1/2 months of hell, what about the whole Dunlop family being put on hold for 7 1/2 months of hell? What about the victims of sexual abuse who have ‘no life left to put on hold’? Whah, whah, and on he goes….this jmoke reminds me of a Big Blowfly buzzing around and circling the same ‘cow pie’ over and over again….with any kind of luck, he’ll land in the middle of it and get stuck!!! MY OPINION!