Provincial court judge David Chow ordered a Moose Jaw man back to the holding cells on April 15 following an outburst in which the man lambasted Chow for mispronouncing his name, denied having “done anything”, and refused to stand when speaking.
Prince Lamadine, (‘dine’ as in dining, rather than ‘deen’ as in James), is facing two counts under 129(a) — obstructing a police officer — and four counts under 264.1 (1)(a) — uttering threats.
Lamadine’s appearance in court began as a Legal Aid lawyer explained that the young man was refusing a lawyer. However, it was unclear whether he wanted to represent himself or obtain his own counsel.
After Lamadine entered the box, Judge Chow wished him a good morning, introduced himself, and began trying to confirm whether Lamadine was, in fact, refusing Legal Aid.
However, he didn’t get that far.
“Good morning, Mr. Lamadine, my name is Judge Chow —”
“— Lama-DINE,” Lamadine snapped, interrupting the judge several times in an aggressive tone of voice. Pointing two fingers at the bench, Lamadine said, “Get it right!”
Judge Chow’s politeness lasted only a few seconds longer. He admonished Lamadine for his rudeness and attempted to answer the man’s questions about his charges, only to be interrupted and sworn at repeatedly.
Lamadine demanded to know why he would even need a lawyer, denied having done anything to warrant being in court, and would not stay quiet long enough for Judge Chow to read out his charges.
“You’re going to go back to the cells, I’ll deal with you when I’m ready,” Judge Chow said finally. As Lamadine inevitably interrupted, the judge repeated, "Go back to the cells!"
Lamadine’s raised voice could still be heard in the courtroom for at least 10 minutes after his removal to the court’s holding cells, as he continued expressing his discontent.