Sentencing of drunk driver adjourned to fall

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on August 17, 2023.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A southern Alberta woman who was drunk when the vehicle she was driving went off the road, killing her passenger, could be sentenced when she returns to court in a couple of months.
Jayleen Spotted Eagle of Glenwood, who was 19 at the time of the incident, was scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday in Lethbridge court of justice, but it was adjourned until the fall after Calgary lawyer Robin McIntyre explained a Gladue report ordered earlier in the year had not been prepared.
Spotted Eagle pleaded guilty April 11 of this year to one count of impaired driving causing death, and an agreed statement of facts was submitted by the Crown and defence. An agreed statement of facts provides the judge with details of the case that are admitted by both the defence and the Crown, and subsequently dispense with the need for a trial and formal proof.
At about 6:15 p.m. on Feb. 14, 2022 Cardston RCMP responded to a single-vehicle rollover on Highway 505 near Township Road 44, west of Hill Spring. The SUV was travelling east on the highway and failed to make a turn, causing it to leave the road and roll.
The passenger, 25-year-old Ty Chief Moon of Levern, was thrown from the vehicle and died. Spotted Eagle was treated at hospital and later released.
Following her client’s guilty plea in April, a Gladue report was ordered and sentencing adjourned. However, McIntyre said Wednesday the Gladue writer had “issues” contacting Spotted Eagle and the report was never prepared. McIntyre added she helped arrange contact between the Gladue writer and Spotted Eagle, but it was too late to have a report prepared for Wednesday’s sentencing hearing.
A Gladue report applies certain principles which are used by judges to consider the unique circumstances and experiences of Indigenous people. The unique circumstances include the challenges of colonization that continue to affect Indigenous people today. The challenges, called Gladue factors, include racism, loss of language, removal from land, residential schools, and foster care.
In 1999, in a case called Gladue, the Supreme Court of Canada said colonialism creates challenges for many Indigenous people and, because the criminal justice system failed Indigenous people, they are more likely to be sent to jail as a result. Gladue principles try to address the failures and ensure judges don’t repeat the same mistakes that add to discrimination, and during sentencing judges must consider Gladue factors and options other than jail to help address the challenges indigenous people face.

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