DLM
01-07-2005, 12:50 PM
U.S. fugitive loses appeal for bail
Judge cites failure to appear in court
Extradition case can now proceed
TRACEY TYLER
Toronto Star LEGAL AFFAIRS REPORTER
Jan. 7, 2005. 01:00 AM
Joseph Pannell, a former Toronto library assistant wanted for the 1969 shooting of a Chicago police officer, will not await his extradition hearing from the familiar surroundings of his Mississauga home, with an electronic bracelet around his ankle and his mother-in-law and three friends providing supervision.
But there is also no reason the 55-year-old father of four and alleged former Black Panther should have "to languish in a Canadian jail," a judge of the Ontario Court of Appeal said yesterday, upholding an earlier decision to deny him bail.
Extradition hearings are not criminal trials and are expected to proceed promptly, said Justice James MacPherson, noting lawyers for the U.S. government say they're prepared to proceed.
"It is clear ... that although (Pannell) is currently detained pending the extradition process, the duration of that process can be very short ... and is substantially within the applicant's own control," he said.
Pannell, who lived in Canada for 30 years under the name Douglas Gary Freeman, was arrested by an immigration task force outside the Toronto Reference Library as he left work last July 27. He is charged with attempted murder and three other offences arising from the March 7, 1969 shooting of officer Terrence Knox, who suffered permanent damage when he was shot in the right arm.
Pannell applied for release on bail, but his request was rejected by Justice Ian Nordheimer of the Superior Court of Justice, who cited the case history and the absence of an effective supervision plan. After being granted bail on two previous occasions in the U.S., Pannell failed to show up for court. The last time, he disappeared permanently, eventually slipping over the Canadian border.
About two months after Nordheimer's ruling, Pannell's lawyers, Julian Falconer and Julian Roy, returned to court with a release plan, arguing it represented a "material change" in their client's circumstances.
The plan called for Pannell's mother-in-law to move from Quebec to live with him in Mississauga. Three of Pannell's friends, who, like his mother-in-law, had agreed to act as sureties, would also take turns living in the family's home.
Pannell had also volunteered to subject himself to electronic monitoring. But Nordheimer said an electronic bracelet would only alert police if Pannell had fled and wouldn't ensure he would show for court.
The judge also said he wasn't convinced Pannell would remain accountable to his mother-in-law because their relationship was founded on a deception dating back 20 years.
Pannell pressed ahead, taking his case to the Ontario Court of Appeal. He told MacPherson, during a Dec. 23 hearing in chambers, that Nordheimer erred by failing to recognize his release plan was a legitimate answer to supervision concerns.
He also argued that having his mother-in-law live with him, particularly since she stood to forfeit $100,000 if he skipped town, would add "a significant component" to his house arrest.
"I do not accept this submission," MacPherson said in yesterday's decision.
"The reality is that the applicant faces serious criminal charges in the United States, relating to a violent crime, which had disastrous consequences for the victim. Moreover, on two separate occasions, the applicant jumped bail in the United States in order to avoid trial."
While there is much to be said for the way Pannell has lived his life in Canada, the judge said, what can't be overlooked is that the foundation of this life was a "planned and deliberate flight from the judicial process in the United States, coupled with profound deception and deceit."
Judge cites failure to appear in court
Extradition case can now proceed
TRACEY TYLER
Toronto Star LEGAL AFFAIRS REPORTER
Jan. 7, 2005. 01:00 AM
Joseph Pannell, a former Toronto library assistant wanted for the 1969 shooting of a Chicago police officer, will not await his extradition hearing from the familiar surroundings of his Mississauga home, with an electronic bracelet around his ankle and his mother-in-law and three friends providing supervision.
But there is also no reason the 55-year-old father of four and alleged former Black Panther should have "to languish in a Canadian jail," a judge of the Ontario Court of Appeal said yesterday, upholding an earlier decision to deny him bail.
Extradition hearings are not criminal trials and are expected to proceed promptly, said Justice James MacPherson, noting lawyers for the U.S. government say they're prepared to proceed.
"It is clear ... that although (Pannell) is currently detained pending the extradition process, the duration of that process can be very short ... and is substantially within the applicant's own control," he said.
Pannell, who lived in Canada for 30 years under the name Douglas Gary Freeman, was arrested by an immigration task force outside the Toronto Reference Library as he left work last July 27. He is charged with attempted murder and three other offences arising from the March 7, 1969 shooting of officer Terrence Knox, who suffered permanent damage when he was shot in the right arm.
Pannell applied for release on bail, but his request was rejected by Justice Ian Nordheimer of the Superior Court of Justice, who cited the case history and the absence of an effective supervision plan. After being granted bail on two previous occasions in the U.S., Pannell failed to show up for court. The last time, he disappeared permanently, eventually slipping over the Canadian border.
About two months after Nordheimer's ruling, Pannell's lawyers, Julian Falconer and Julian Roy, returned to court with a release plan, arguing it represented a "material change" in their client's circumstances.
The plan called for Pannell's mother-in-law to move from Quebec to live with him in Mississauga. Three of Pannell's friends, who, like his mother-in-law, had agreed to act as sureties, would also take turns living in the family's home.
Pannell had also volunteered to subject himself to electronic monitoring. But Nordheimer said an electronic bracelet would only alert police if Pannell had fled and wouldn't ensure he would show for court.
The judge also said he wasn't convinced Pannell would remain accountable to his mother-in-law because their relationship was founded on a deception dating back 20 years.
Pannell pressed ahead, taking his case to the Ontario Court of Appeal. He told MacPherson, during a Dec. 23 hearing in chambers, that Nordheimer erred by failing to recognize his release plan was a legitimate answer to supervision concerns.
He also argued that having his mother-in-law live with him, particularly since she stood to forfeit $100,000 if he skipped town, would add "a significant component" to his house arrest.
"I do not accept this submission," MacPherson said in yesterday's decision.
"The reality is that the applicant faces serious criminal charges in the United States, relating to a violent crime, which had disastrous consequences for the victim. Moreover, on two separate occasions, the applicant jumped bail in the United States in order to avoid trial."
While there is much to be said for the way Pannell has lived his life in Canada, the judge said, what can't be overlooked is that the foundation of this life was a "planned and deliberate flight from the judicial process in the United States, coupled with profound deception and deceit."