Man convicted on basis of 'police; statement only

A Nunavut judge ruled last week that Joannie Jamesie Kopalie of Iqaluit is guilty of assault with a weapon, even though his victim failed to appear in court to testify against him.

Kopalie, who had been drinking hard liquor for the previous 24 hours after returning from a work-stint at the Mary River iron project, choked, kicked and beat his common law partner with a crowbar during a fit of jealous rage on or about Sept. 22 last year.

But at Kopalie's trial, the woman failed to appear in court, even though the Crown had issued her with a subpoena.

After hearing evidence presented in a special hearing called a "voir dire," Justice Earl Johnson decided instead to admit a statement that she made to police the morning after she was attacked.

In doing so, Johnson rejected arguments from Kopalie's defence lawyer, Chris Debicki, who said the victim-witness should have been brought to court so her evidence against the accused could be cross-examined.

In the statement, the woman told Cst. Robert Daley of the Iqaluit RCMP detachment that after she had dressed so she could prepare a bottle for her baby, Kopalie accused her of sleeping with a man named "Noah."

After the woman denied the accusation, Kopalie began choking her with both of his hands. After the woman grabbed her baby, Kopalie then began kicking her in the ribs.

When the woman grabbed a crowbar to defend herself, Kopalie took it from her and hit her on the legs, producing a bruise on the back of one of her calves.

In his defence, Kopalie said in court that he had merely pushed his wife because she was lying on top of the baby, and he said the blow from the crowbar was accidental.

But after reviewing Kopalie's lengthy criminal record, which includes seven convictions for crimes of violence and various other convictions on crimes of dishonesty, Johnson said he does not accept Kopalie's evidence.

"The record shows he is a violent, dishonest individual and it significantly undermines any remaining credibility he may have. I have no hesitation in finding that I do not believe the accused," Johnson said.

Instead, Johnson accepted the evidence in the woman's police statement, and used it to find Kopalie guilty of the assault with a weapon charge.

He noted that Kopalie's record contains two previous convictions for assault with a weapon and four spousal assaults, including one assault conviction against the same complainant in October 2007.

Kopalie has yet to be sentenced on his latest conviction.

Johnson warned, however, that his decision to accept the woman's police statement doesn't mean that Crown prosecutors can rely on police statements as a substitute for calling witnesses.

"They must make every effort to have the witness attend court and be prepared to explain the efforts made to persuade the witness to attend," Johnson said.