2020 June 3

R. v. Lepp, 2020 ONSC 3435

In this criminal proceeding, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice varied a judicial release order made in March, 2020 by permitting the accused to use the internet without supervision for the purpose of employment and for purposes relating to his ongoing criminal and civil court cases.  The Court also decided to permit the accused to use the internet for other purposes, including sending emails, when he is supervised by his surety or designate.  In the result, the revised release order reads:

Do not access or use the internet or email or text messages except (i) in the direct continuous presence of your surety or an adult over the age of 21 as approved by your surety; (ii) for the purposes of employment with Google maps street view photography, remote P.C. support and website development; or (iii) for purposes relating to your ongoing court proceedings, including conducting online research, serving and filing electronic court documents, communicating with your own and other counsel, and attending virtual online court hearings.

The Court noted that the March 2020 judicial release order did not take into account the accused’s “status as a self-represented litigant who was defending himself against multiple criminal charges, as well as dealing with multiple civil actions both as a plaintiff and as a defendant.”  The Court noted that bail conditions barring the accused from doing online legal research or using the internet to communicate with court staff and opposing counsel was “entirely untenable in the current landscape created by the COVID-19 public health crisis, which has closed law libraries and is likely to shift most court hearings onto online platforms for the foreseeable future.”