Canadian Forces - Summary Trial (1985)

[Music] run [Applause] fire prepare for inspections up um i have no live rounds or implications in my possession sir i have no live rounds or implications in my possession sir i have no live rounds or implications in my possession sir i have no live rounds applications my obsession sir i have no live rounds or empty cases in my possession sir no live rods or empty casings in my possession sir like where did you put your knife [Music] yeah they're coming down saturday geez that'll be all right hey so what's with the live round i saw you take off the range today oh it was just something to take home yeah they'll come down heavy on if you're caught who's gonna get cut listen up you guys i'm gonna be gone for a few minutes i don't want no fooling around um um what are you doing with live round safety's on sure what the hell's going on i want you all to keep quiet about this if anybody should ask you a rock went through the window you all got that yes yes at a summary trial a commanding officer may either try and accuse himself or subject to certain limitations authorize any officer not below the rank of captain who is serving under his command to exercise powers of trial and punishment what were they doing throwing stones well they were supposed to be cleaning weapons sir yeah that's what i thought i'll ask the company sergeant major to do a further investigation sir good keep me in the picture i will sir regulations provide that before charges are proceeded with the case has to be thoroughly investigated based upon the seriousness of the allegations and the results of the investigation a decision is made as to how charges are disposed of when the investigation revealed that a summary trial should be conducted a delegated officer captain troop on the left was appointed the officer appointed to assist the accused was captain woodman afternoon sir good afternoon no stones were involved at all sir five account took a live round from the range he was showing off to our weapons clean and load a live round into his rifle sir he what private davis got scared and tried to stop him the rifle went off and the window shattered if during a trial a delegated officer concludes that he lacks jurisdiction either because his powers of punishment would if the accused were found guilty prove inadequate or for any other reason he reversed the case to the commanding officer who has greater powers of punishment if the delegated officer considers that his powers of punishment are adequate he proceeds with the summary trial i have authority to try both cases but as for cowan's case i'd like to investigate it further what about master purple griffin sir you say he claimed a rock broke the window yes sir and so the master corporal tried to cover up yes sir he admitted going for a nap during weapons cleaning and that's against range standing orders master corporal griffin's case is too serious for me to handle i'll remand him to the commanding officer but i'll try private davis's case escort accused and witness attention right turn escort accuse the witness sir thank you sir major before a summary trial the accused must receive a copy of the charge report an accused also signs a certificate indicating the choice for the trial to be conducted in english or in french private davis i will now read the charge against you two three 233-640-021 private davis karen allen canadian forces canadian forces recruit school cornwallis regular force charge number one under section 119 of the national defense act an act to the prejudice of good order and discipline in that she at approximately 0.930 hours on eight june 1985 at the granville training area cfb cornwallis without authority did fire a live round from a 7.62 millimeter fn c1 rifle and their witnesses private cohen b l escort accused and witness standard private davis do you require more time to prepare your case no sir do you wish to admit any of the particulars of the charge before you answer i must advise you that you are not required to make any admissions and that if you do make an admission it may be accepted as proof of any particular you admitted without further evidence being required no sir i don't wish to make an admission note that the accused is not asked to plead guilty or not guilty the decision in a case is based solely on the evidence the trial officer either directs that the evidence be taken on oath or informs the accused that he has the right to have the evidence taken on oath normally only witnesses with first-hand knowledge are called a summary trial is a formal proceeding but it should not be so formal as to inhibit the accused for making a full answer to the charges i will now hear the evidence from the witness private cowan state your number rank and name 467-864-369 private council private cowan on the 8th of june a rifle was fired at the granville range during weapons cleaning tell me what you know about this sir we were cleaning our rifles after firing at the 200 meter targets yes sir and i loaded a live round how did you come to have a live round i uh i took it from the rain sir and what happened after you loaded the live round private davis grabbed my rifle sir and it went off who actually fired the shot the shot wouldn't have went off if private davis didn't grab the rifle sir i didn't fire the shot what happened then the bullet hit a window in the range house sir private davis do you wish to question this witness no sir the accused has a right to question any or all witnesses in a summary trial the accused may also call witnesses on his or her behalf in addition after the witnesses have been heard the accused may give evidence if so desired i just didn't know what to think when he loaded the live round sir well you don't lie around karen safety's on sure i suppose i was afraid something would happen you knew it was a live round yes sir i saw private cowan take it from the range in view of the evidence private davis i'm satisfied that you grabbed for the rifle in order to stop a dangerous situation from going any further and it has not been made clear just who fired the shot in the scuffle under the circumstances private davis i find you not guilty of this charge marching ball chart major right turn right rail right rail quick barge up wheel [Music] sergeant major based on the evidence that i have heard from private cowan his part in this affair is serious my powers of punishment might not be adequate to deal with his case and i'm therefore remanding him for the commanding officer an assisting officer will be present at a summary trial and an accused has a right to be represented by him an accused does not have the right to be represented by legal counsel at a summary trial however if an accused request such representation the officer conducting the summary trial has the discretion to permit representation by legal counsel proceed without representation by legal counsel or apply for disposal of the charges against the accused by a court martial in the exercise of his discretion the commanding officer should consider the nature and complexity of the offense the interests of justice and the interests of the accused as well as the exigencies of the service when a commanding officer has had a charge referred to him by a delegated officer he may dismiss the charge if in his opinion the charge should not be proceeded with refer the matter back to the delegated officer or to another delegated officer for trial try the accused himself if he is empowered to do so and in his opinion it would be appropriate for him to do so or refer the case to higher authority for disposal the accused 467-864-369 private cowan bernard lawrence canadian forces cfrs cornwallis regular force charge number one under section 119 of the national defense act an act for the fragis of good order and discipline in that he at approximately zero nine two zero hours on eighth of june 1985 at the granville training area he enforces base cornwallis without authority removed a live round of 7.62 millimeter ball from the range contrary to range standing orders section two pair of five a witnesses two three three six four zero zero two one private davis ke one two zero six four four two two four private daigle r j 112-116-132 master corporal griffin lm sir thank you private collin is this the correct identification for you yes sir do you understand the charges it was read yes sir you've been assigned captain woodman as your assistant officer is that satisfactory to you yes sir and have you had a chance to discuss the case with them yes sir escort accused witnesses stand up i wish the evidence taken under oath adjutant would you swear the witnesses in remove headdress place your right hands on the bible and repeat after me mass corporal griffin were you present at the granville range on june the 8th when your platoon was firing yes sir did you take the normal declaration after firing yes sir we lined the platoon up in the open order and then received an individual declaration from each recruit do you know private cohen yes sir he's a member of my patone do you particularly remember private cowan making the statement yes he did sir i have no life rounds or empty casings in my possession sir cowan do you have any questions to put them out to corporal griffin no sir we're outside the range house cleaning weapons were all members of the platoon present during weapons cleaning yes sir you're sure that everyone was present who should have been there except for mass corporal griffin sir he went inside the range house was he present during the incident no sir but he came running out right after will you describe the incident please yes sir i was at the female platoon and i noticed cow unloading the live round are you doing live round calendar safety's on you sure what the hell's going on what happened then once master corporal griffin got straight what happened he uh told us to keep it quiet to keep quiet yes sir he said he'd fix it sir i want you all to keep quiet about this if anybody should ask you a rock went through the window you all got that yes ma'am robert cohen do you have any questions to ask private davis yes sir if you hadn't grabbed the rifle it would have never went off right you were being a real jerk and i got scared any further questions no sir captain woodman as cohen's assisting officer have you got any questions to put the private davis normally the assisting officer represents the accused he is not legally trained but he is sufficiently knowledgeable to provide guidance and assistance to the accused with respect to the procedural and substantive aspects of the summary trial this is done so that the accused can make informed decisions on all issues that affect him the assisting officer is permitted to assist the accused to the extent requested although in some cases the accused may feel competent to handle his own defense and then he loaded the live brown sir and private davis tried to stop him and then it went off sir you saw cowan load the round into his rifle yes sir was master corporal griffin present no sir he'd gotten at the range house sir cohen have you any questions to ask of this witness yes sir how do you know davis wasn't trying to fight the rifle i heard her tell you to stop fooling around it looked like she was trying to stop you at this stage of the trial the commanding officer asks the accused if he wishes to call any witnesses or give evidence on his own behalf private cowan chose not to call any witnesses but expressed a desire to be heard he was sworn in prior to giving his testimony i didn't mean for any of this to happen sir i just took the round for something to have i'm satisfied private cowan that you made a false declaration at the granville range and that you intentionally loaded a live round into a rifle away from the firing line accordingly i find you guilty could i have private cowen's conduct sheet please i note that your conduct sheet is blank captain woodman as cowan's assisting officer have you got anything to say on his behalf sir cowan is a good recruit he's smart and he learns fast in my view sir he has the potential to complete his training successfully and become a good service i'll accept that but being smart also means knowing why we have such stringent regulations regarding range safety private cohen i send you to a fine of 150 and do confinement to barracks for 21 days mr northrup march them out mission author would you bring in master corporal griffin please sir escort and accuse our tan top quick barge left right left right left right left right mark time right down right down griffin in view of the seriousness of the charge when master corporal griffin was marched in front of the commanding officer the charge sheet was read but based on the seriousness of the charges and what the commanding officer already knew of the circumstances he advised master corporal griffin that if he were to be found guilty the appropriate punishment could involve detention loss of his rank or a fine in excess of two hundred dollars accordingly the commanding officer advised master corporal griffin that he had the right to choose whether he wanted to be tried by summary trial or by court martial and that he had 24 hours to make the decision therefore i remand this case for 24 hours for you to consider which choice you wish to elect i suggest you discuss the matter closely with your assistant officer mr northrup sir escort accused left turn because master corporal griffin was offered the right to be tried by court martial his assisting officer had the duty of explaining to him the differences between a summary trial and a court martial with respect to the procedures to be followed and the powers of punishment available captain woodman explained to master corporal griffin that a court martial has greater powers of punishment than an officer conducting a summary trial that as an accused master corporal griffin would have the right to be represented by legal counsel at a court martial but not at a summary trial however should the master corporal choose to have a summary trial captain woodman would assist him in preparing his case and presenting it also the military rules of evidence are applied only at a court martial and an offender may appeal the legality of the finding or sentence of a court martial to the court martial appeal court have you decided yet master corporal griffin not really uh what do you think sir it's your decision but remember what the ceo said if found guilty your sentence could involve detention loss of rank or a fine in excess of two hundred dollars that's being pretty hard on me isn't it sir that's because you're an nco and you're expected to set an example for the men right now i thought it over sir and i've decided i probably wouldn't know the right questions to ask at a summary trial i think i'll need a legal officer sir therefore i've decided to take a court martial all right master corporal griffin you'll be emerged in front of the ceo and you can tell them officially sir these then are the procedures for summary trials before a delegated officer and commanding officer summary trials have only one purpose that purpose is to administer military justice fairly and so maintain good discipline one up you

Channel: A. Ryan

Views: 20,983

Rating: 4.9428573 out of 5

Keywords: Historical, Canada, Justice, CFB, Training Videos, History, Training, Summary Trial, Army, Overseas, Military, Law, Exercise, Military Police, Canadian Forces, Operation

Id: qVg-a-ytwIk

Length: 22min 52sec (1372 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 13 2020