MONTREAL – A Quebec Court judge is urging election-night shooting suspect Richard Bain to get himself a lawyer before his preliminary hearing begins May 2.
The advice came Wednesday, shortly after Judge Jean-Paul Braun supplied Bain with his personal copy of an annotated English-language Criminal Code, something Bain says is denied him by provincial jail officials because Premier Pauline Marois has claimed he tried to kill her.
Bain told a courtroom full of reporters that he went to the Métropolis club on election night to deny Marois “her (victory) speech and her party.”
Crown prosecutor Elaine Per-reault noted that while Bain has implied that he will represent himself during the hearing, he has not yet told the court of his decision.
“My advice is that you get a lawyer,” Braun told Bain. “It is very difficult for a person to defend himself and properly represent himself within the criminal system.”
Bain faces 16 charges including murder, attempted murder, arson and weapons charges in relation to the shooting of two people outside the Parti Québécois victory gala held at the Métropolis on Sept. 4.
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Lighting technician Denis Blanchette was killed and another technician, David Courage, was injured by the same bullet.
Bain told the judge that he was unhappy with the “three lawyers,” he had, and was rebuffed by a leading constitutional expert.
“My case is constitutional. I cannot speak my mother’s tongue in Quebec,” said Bain, 62, who has been found mentally fit to stand trial. He also earns too much to qualify for legal aid, and a legal aid lawyer he had was discharged.
“I have no concerns about my case. I have full faith and trust in Jesus Christ,” Bain told the court.
Bain’s designated spokesman, Daniel Sweeney, told reporters outside the courtroom that Bain this week decided that he will indeed represent himself. Sweeney, who claims he once worked for CSIS, says he took on the PR job because Bain is being denied telephone access to the media from jail and because they share various political views. Bain recently sent Braun a 14-page handwritten letter that included questions about his case, court proceedings and his problems with jail officials and guards.
Bain said he wants to be transferred to an Ontario jail where he’d have access to English books, an French-English dictionary and “be able to defend myself.”
Eleven days have been set aside for Bain’s preliminary hearing, which begins May 2 and includes a week in June.
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