There are things you do in one of society’s remaining bastions of decorum and things you don’t do.
And even over the Zoom video conferencing platform, that decorum expected in a Canadian courtroom must be upheld, a judge told a man who appeared at a Barrie court virtually from his car Tuesday.
“Why is your client appearing in court from a motor vehicle?” Ontario Superior Court Justice Michelle Fuerst asked the man’s lawyer. “This isn’t drop-in-from-wherever-you-happen-to-be (court).
“The lack of decorum is a concern.”
The man was to be sentenced with two others on a charge of theft under $5,000. But his connection was static and sometimes unclear, prompting the judge to ask him if he was in his vehicle. He replied he was, but that he wasn’t driving.
“There’s a formality that has to be observed,” the judge told the man. “You can participate from a residence, you can participate from an office… but I do not want anyone joining by vehicle and I expect you to be in a setting that is appropriate to the conduct of virtual court proceedings.”
Jason Rabinovitch, a criminal lawyer who was attending the virtual court at the time, said some of the court’s formalities are lost in these remote connections.
While a T-shirt and jeans might not be frowned upon in an in-person courtroom, certain symbols, for instance, would be discouraged. Those expectations, he said, are carried over to the virtual platforms.
“There’s supposed to be a certain amount of professionalism and decorum involved,” said Rabinovich. “Over the course of the last many years, I think it has dropped away.
“The courtroom is supposed to be a serious place to be. ... In the COVID world that we’re now living in and have been for the past two years, it’s been very easy for us to forget about that.”
The man's lawyer, Wayne Paisley, said remote appearances have worked well in the case up to this point.
"In this case, my client thought he could handle the matter simply as it has all been worked out by the Crown and defence counsel. He had thought he could do it from his work site and thereby not have to take a day off work," Paisley wrote in an email.
"I expect that we are going to see a lot of use of Zoom type of proceedings when the pandemic is over. It saves a lot of time and expense for travel for the public, the Crowns and defence counsel, judges and some of the court staff," he added. "The decorum will be lost, but I don't think that it was ever that important. So long as the parties are completely prepared it should be a great benefit in terms of costs being spared."
The judge postponed the sentencing until later in the week when the accused is expected to appear through a stable connection from a home or office.
