(LifeSiteNews) – Lawrence Greenspon, the hard-hitting experienced lawyer for Freedom Convoy leader Tamara Lich, warned that her trial could extend weeks longer than the scheduled 16 days due to the Crown taking a long time to go through its witnesses.
The trial against Freedom Convoy leaders Chris Barber and Lich began September 5 and since last week the Crown has only called two of some 22 witnesses.
Greenspon said last Thursday that there is “no way in the world” that the Crown would “have their evidence in 10 days,” saying that’s not “going to happen.”
“The way this trial’s going, I don’t think two weeks is even going to be enough,” Greenspon told Rebel News.
“At some point, we have to sit down – and I assume that’s going to happen Monday – and realistically see … how long it’s going to take for the Crown to get its evidence in.”
Last year, lawyers for both sides agreed that 16 days would be a reasonable amount of time to have a fair case. However, thus far, the Crown, as noted by Greenspon, has slowed the pace of the trial to a crawl while attempting to introduce hundreds of pages of social media posts as evidence.
The Crown has tried to argue that the video evidence be allowed to be submitted to the court, claiming that it shows Lich and Barber’s attempt to create a disruption in downtown Ottawa.
However, the defense will be arguing that most of the video “evidence” does not correlate at all with their charges against Lich and Barber.
Lich and Barber are facing multiple charges from the 2022 protests, including mischief, counseling mischief, counseling intimidation and obstructing police for taking part in and organizing the anti-mandate Freedom Convoy. As reported by LifeSiteNews at the time, despite the non-violent nature of the protest and the charges, Lich was jailed for weeks before she was granted bail.
In early 2022, the Freedom Convoy saw thousands of Canadians from coast to coast come to Ottawa to demand an end to COVID mandates. Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s federal government enacted the Emergencies Act in mid-February, leading to Lich’s arrest two days later, on February 17.
Last Thursday, the court heard a Crown police witness say she did not keep a list of videos showing the protests despite being ordered to download the videos from a list she was given.
Sgt. Joanne Pilotte of the Ottawa Police Service concluded her testimony last Thursday on behalf of the Crown and was cross-examined during the last portions of the “voir dire,” or trial within a trial. This mini-trial will determine whether certain social media posts will be allowed as evidence.
Justice Heather Perkins-McVey has yet to make a ruling on whether to allow the social media postings to be submitted into court.
During the third and fourth days of the trial, Perkins-McVey reportedly noted her unhappiness with the Crown after it submitted thousands of pages of evidence against the protest organizers all at once.
On the fifth day, Greenspon argued against allowing the Crown to be allowed to submit evidence to the court from local civilians who claimed the truckers’ horn-honking affected their well-being.
During the sixth day, the court began viewing multiple social media posts showing Lich calling for protesters to be “peaceful” and even to “pray for the Prime Minister.”
On the seventh day, the court also viewed a press conference in which Lich and Barber called for media fairness in coverage of the protests.
The Democracy Fund (TDF) is crowdfunding Lich’s legal costs. Court resumed today.