Justice served by keeping Indigenous client out of jail: lawyer

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This article was published 28/08/2023 (780 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg lawyer who successfully argued his client should be spared a jail sentence heralded the outcome last week as a “massive” victory for courts, people with no criminal record and defence attorneys.

Last Monday, provincial court Judge Rachel Rusen gave John Stadnick, 30, a conditional sentence of two years less a day, which he will serve under house arrest at his Winnipeg home.

He pleaded guilty in December to one count of unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle.

Stadnick, who had borrowed the weapon, should benefit, in part, from recently repealed mandatory minimum sentences for some firearms offences, his lawyer Ethan Pollock told court.

Those offences had been subject to mandatory minimum jail sentences until the federal government abolished them in legislation that passed last year.

Illegal firearm, no licence

Winnipeg police charged Stadnick after a van he was a passenger in was pulled over for speeding at Main Street and Dufferin Avenue on July 24, 2021.

Police found an illegally modified .22-calibre rifle. Stadnick admitted it had been in his possession; he had ammunition for it in his pockets.

Court was told Stadnick, who didn’t have a firearms licence, had borrowed the gun to go target shooting. In any case, the firearm was illegal because it had been sawed off.

Crown prosecutor Theresa Cannon had argued Stadnick should receive a 30-month sentence.

“He didn’t know that you needed a (licence) to shoot firearms outside of city limits, so he’s naive to the law,” Pollock told the judge.

“Is that an excuse? Absolutely not, but my client wasn’t gallivanting throughout the city of Winnipeg with gang members.

“They were outside the city limits shooting cans. Should he have been doing that? No. Is that dangerous? Yes, very dangerous. But when we take a step back and we look at what actually happened here, is it worth a 2 1/2-year sentence, to ruin this man’s life?”

Remorseful, co-operative, no criminal record

Stadnick, who is Indigenous and has no adult criminal record, works as a foreman for a steel framing company to provide for his longtime partner and his 12-year-old niece; he took responsibility for her after his brother was slain, Pollock said.

He argued justice would be better served if Stadnick stayed out of jail.

“The courts have opined that sentencing is a very individualized process and when we’re sentencing anyone… particularly an Indigenous person, the court has to think long and hard as to whether or not we want to contribute to the over-representation statistics of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system, and I suggest, respectfully, that (conditional sentences) exist for people like John Stadnick,” Pollock told Rusen, noting his client was remorseful and co-operative.

“This is the archetype of a person that we’re trying to keep out of custody.”

Rusen agreed.

“I’m not concerned that (a conditional sentence) would endanger the safety of the community, and I am not of the opinion that it would be inconsistent with fundamental justice,” she said.

House arrest — except for job, limited exceptions

The sentence includes complete house arrest for the first 12 months of his sentence, with exceptions for his job, medical emergencies and a brief weekly window to run errands. After 12 months, he will be allowed to be out of his home from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., but still subject to conditions, including absolute sobriety.

Stadnick apologized and promised not to get in trouble with the law again.

Cannon stayed other firearms charges.

“Individuals like Mr. Stadnick, who are Indigenous and don’t have a criminal record, who are fathers and partners and hard workers, can now be afforded leniency in circumstances where leniency is justified,” Pollock said, referring to the change in mandatory minimum sentences.

“There’s always been such an over representation of Indigenous people in the justice system, particularly in… (corrections) institutions, and things aren’t getting any better.”

He said mandatory minimums had “handcuffed” defence lawyers and the courts.

“The recourse available to defence lawyers was very narrow and would often require us to file (Charter of Rights and Freedoms) motions challenging the mandatory minimum,” Pollock said.

He said he hopes Stadnick’s case is used by other defence lawyers in future sentencing submissions.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca