Article content A Red Deer judge whose dispute with a defence lawyer ended in the latter being jailed admitted he should have done more to “de-escalate” the situation. Justice Gordon Yake of the Alberta Court of Justice offered a qualified apology to George Lebessis Friday for having him jailed during a trial on Nov. 8.
As dozens of lawyers watched from the court gallery — and more than 200 tuned in via video conference — Yake said that while he had concerns about Lebessis’s conduct, he would not cite him for contempt of court. He did, however, chastise Lebessis for leaving the courthouse without permission after his 10- to 15-minute stint in the cellblock. “I have never seen or heard of counsel abandoning their client in that fashion before Nov.
8 of this year,” the judge said. “I was shocked.” That issue is best addressed by the Law Society of Alberta, which can cite lawyers for unprofessional conduct, Yake said.
Subpoena issue Tensions between Yake and Lebessis boiled over during an assault trial on Nov. 8. The issue was the absence of a police witness, who Lebessis planned to call as part of the defence case.
Lebessis said the Crown agreed to subpoena the witness, though there was no formal written agreement besides a vague note on the file given to the prosecutor in court that day. Yake repeatedly asked Lebessis if the previous Crown had told him verbally that he would subpoena the witness. Lebessis said he could not say for sure and needed time to rese.
