By Tony Gosgnach
TORONTO, October 21, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Veteran pro-life demonstrator Linda Gibbons was remanded in custody to the Mental Health Court at Toronto’s Old City Hall, 60 Queen Street W., Room 102, tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. for a “mental health assessment” after a bail hearing at the Ontario Court of Justice at College Park today.
The unrepresented Gibbons declined to speak to a duty counsel lawyer who had appeared on her behalf, leading the presiding justice of the peace – apparently unaware of Gibbons’s practice of remaining silent in court out of solidarity with voiceless preborn human beings – to believe she may have psychological issues.
Although the Crown attorney said he understood that Gibbons was mentally “fit” to proceed, the JP said, “We can’t have a bail hearing if she remains mute.” Psychiatric staff with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health will conduct the assessment and present verbal opinions to the court immediately afterwards.
Gibbons has been held in custody since being arrested Oct. 8 outside the Scott “Clinic” abortion site in downtown Toronto. She has been charged with disobeying a court order, which legal officials say entitles her to a jury trial at the Superior Court of Justice should she decide to plead not guilty.