Inmates win court food fight

Inmates win court food fight
Durham police agree to augment prisoners' lunch during hearing after lawyers launch complaint

Nov 18, 2008 04:30 AM

Betsy Powell Courts Bureau

"I'll have the Chicken Neptune."

That was the joking response of a prisoner in an Oshawa courtroom yesterday after Durham Regional Police Service reluctantly agreed to feed seven inmates more than a granola bar and juice box during lengthy court proceedings.

But the issue is no laughing matter, say the defence lawyers who complained their clients would be too hungry to follow their preliminary hearing, scheduled to begin today and last five weeks.

In September, defence lawyers, led by Daniel Brown, brought an application in an Oshawa court asking Justice David Stone to order Raymond Martin and six co-accused – who face a variety of drug offences – be provided additional food and drink in order to "meaningfully participate" in their preliminary inquiry.

But before the application could be heard yesterday, Kevin Inwood, a lawyer for Durham police, announced the force will add a sandwich and apple to the daily menu of the seven prisoners in order not to delay or disrupt the proceedings.

The force "wants to make it very clear they maintain they are not required to do so," Inwood told court. Durham police believe it is the province's responsibility to buy prisoners lunch and it is refusing despite agreeing recently to pay all court costs by 2012, he said, adding the cost "ought not to be borne by the taxpayers of this region."

Since August, inmates of Durham Region's five courthouses have received one granola bar and juice box at lunch.

The force changed the menu "to save staff time, reduce waste, provide a more nutritional meal and save money," an internal media briefing note said.

Previously, the inmates were given a cheese sandwich on white bread and can of pop.
While the lawyers declared victory yesterday and withdrew their application, they said the larger issue looms in courthouses across Ontario where penny-pinching policies are taking a bite out of food budgets.

"This concession by the Durham police is only in this particular case," said Brown. "Are we going to have to waste court time in future cases to litigate the same issue over and over again? I think the answer is yes."

The prisoners receiving the extra food are spending all day in court in addition to being driven for an hour to and from Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay.

Before the deal was agreed to in court, Stone said he had no authority to order the province or Durham to provide more food. But he said if at any time he found any parties weren't "present" due to a lack of food, he could shut down the court.