But it is hard to accept the explanation Richard Mnatha offered the judge as being wholly accurate
It’s not uncommon for a person facing criminal prosecution before the courts to fire their lawyer, although much more rare for it to occur mid-trial.
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So the decision earlier this week by accused serial rapist Richard Mantha to dismiss his legal team and delay his hearing was only moderately surprising.
Of course, Mantha, like many other accused, had his reasons for saying he no longer wanted defence counsel Kim Arial and Andre Ouellette to represent him.
But it is hard to accept the explanation he offered Justice Judith Shrier on Tuesday as being wholly accurate.
Despite requesting, and being granted, a trial in French, Mantha spoke in English when he told the Calgary Court of Justice judge why he no longer had confidence in his legal team.
“I don’t feel like I’m being well-represented. My representation is lacking in certain areas,” the Calgary man said.
“I don’t think it’s fair to me to sit here and put my life into the hands of people who don’t seem to care.”
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He told Shrier he raised his concerns with counsel, but to no avail.
“My best interest has not been looked upon,” he said. “I mentioned it several times to my lawyers and they just kept going.”
Of course, Mantha’s “best interest” would be an acquittal on the 20 charges he faces on allegations he sexually abused and drugged seven vulnerable women he’d met mostly on the streets of southeast Calgary.
But as the first four of the seven alleged victims (one has since died, so only six were scheduled to testify at his trial) took the witness stand in his Calgary hearing the likelihood of that outcome was certainly put in jeopardy.
Often in cases involving alleged victims with pasts that include drug addiction, homelessness and prostitution the complainants sometimes simply don’t make it to court.
As one of the women stated repeatedly in her testimony, she remains a drug addict, despite being clean for some time.
Such vulnerable individuals are always just a step away from falling back into the abyss of society they previously found themselves trapped in.
In Mantha’s case the Crown was already able to successfully get four of the complainants to court to allege he committed brutal acts of degradation against them and prosecutor Dominique Mathurin told court on Tuesday that a fifth was ready to take the stand Wednesday morning.
By firing his legal team, Mantha has created the possibility that a mistrial may be necessary as new counsel comes onto the case.
That’s not a given, but it is certainly within the realm of potential outcomes.
And if that occurs, Mantha will be able to take the case back to square one.
Then, the spectre of these vulnerable women, already forced to bare their souls once in an open courtroom, falling back into the lifestyles which made them potential targets for abuse in the first place may come into play.
Perhaps six months, or a year from now when a potential new trial is scheduled, the authorities won’t be able to find their witnesses.
That’s not to suggest Mantha fired his lawyers simply as a strategy to make the Crown’s case harder to prove.
If a second trial were to be required and the witnesses, or at least some of them, couldn’t be found, the prosecution could apply to have their previous testimony entered into evidence, although their success wouldn’t be guaranteed.
Another possibility is the women could be found, but due to a relapse into their prior lives they may not come across as credibly.
But whatever Mantha’s motive for firing his lawyers, one thing is clear.
He is wrong that they didn’t seem to care about him. Both fought tooth and nail and would have continued to do so on his behalf.
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