Dana Metcalfe court hearing set over after her lawyer, Averill Baker, hit with suspension
Metcalfe and co-accused Shane Sweeney due back in court Dec. 13
Dana Metcalfe and Shane Sweeney were back in provincial court Thursday morning on charges of harassing and disturbing Premier Andrew Furey, but there was a hiccup preventing the case from moving forward.
Metcalfe's lawyer, Averill Baker, has been suspended by the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Metcalfe and Sweeney are facing charges of criminal harassment and causing a disturbance over a "surprise convoy" protest on July 9 outside Furey's Portugal Cove-St. Philip's home.
The court heard Sweeney is being represented by Avalon Law Group lawyer Sandra Fry.
Fry explained to Judge Pamela Goulding she was new to the case and needed more time to familiarize herself with it.
Metcalfe raised her hand to tell the judge that she had been informed by Baker on Friday that she no longer intends to practise law. As a result, Metcalfe said she was looking for a new lawyer.
Baker did not respond to requests for comment from CBC News as of publishing time.
The judge agreed to set the next court appearance for Dec. 13.
Metcalfe
ran for the People's Party of Canada in St. John's East in the 2021
federal election, and was a central figure in protests against COVID-19
vaccination mandates in St. John's. (CBC)
It was announced earlier that a Crown prosecutor would be brought in from Nova Scotia to handle the case in order to avoid allegations of conflict of interest, as the case involves the premier. Nova Scotia Crown lawyer Robert Kennedy appeared via teleconference on Thursday.
Baker's law society membership was suspended effective Oct. 25 because she failed to complete 15 hours of professional development, which is mandatory of all practising members of the law society.
Path forward for Baker
According to a statement from the law society, Baker's suspension can be lifted if she fulfils the course hours and then files an application to have her practising status reinstated.
"This application will be reviewed by the education committee of the Law Society who may impose certain conditions, restrictions, and/or requirements which they reasonably determine to be in the public interest," added a spokesperson.
While this was Baker's first suspension, she has been disciplined previously.
In 2014, Baker was disciplined by the law society for an explosive and profanity-laced tirade against a provincial court clerk that took place in 2011.
Also in 2014, Baker was caught sharing what was described as a "passionate kiss" with then client Philip Pynn, just moments before he was arrested in relation to a murder charge.
Her apartment had been under Royal Newfoundland Constabulary surveillance on July 11, 2011, two days after Nick Winsor was shot to death on Portugal Cove Road.
Baker, pictured here in 2014, was previously representing Metcalfe. (CBC)
More recently, in September the law society's adjudication tribunal found Baker guilty of eight complaints.
Documents say Baker had pleaded not guilty but didn't co-operate with the investigation.
At one point Baker claimed to be too ill to attend a hearing, only to pop up on her YouTube channel where she gives tarot card readings, as first reported by the online news organization allNewfoundlandLabrador. Her channel, Prisca Theologia Tarot, has more than 8,000 subscribers.
The complaints stem from her interactions with clients and the law society, such as not co-operating with a trust audit or a disciplinary investigation.
Another complaint was that after she was evicted from her law office in November 2021, she failed to protect solicitor-client information.
The adjudication tribunal decided that Baker deserved to be sanctioned and that it was up to the law society to connect with Baker to determine what sanctions would look like.
Summer 'surprise convoy'
Thursday's court appearance stems from an incident outside the premier's home this past summer.
Videos posted to Sweeney's Facebook account show a protest filled with honking vehicles and smoke flares outside Furey's home.
The protesters claimed they were there to speak out against the "sexualization and indoctrination" of schoolchildren.
Talking to his camera, Sweeney said they were at Furey's home because "he doesn't listen to us when we're at Confederation Building. He sends his paid counterprotesters to city hall. So here we are."
Metcalfe,
who was seen in the video at the protest, also posted Sweeney's video
to Facebook and X, the platform then known as Twitter.
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Corrections
- A prior version of this article had said Averill Baker had been representing both Dana Metcalfe and Shane Sweeney. In fact, Baker only had represented Metcalfe.Nov 03, 2023 8:06 AM NT
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
It's a 'Sad & Draconian Time' in Newfoundland.
Avalon Law Group is pleased to introduce Sandra Fry as the newest associate to join our firm at 1655 Topsail Road in Paradise. Sandra brings a commitment to client service in her practice, which includes family law, criminal law, wills and estates, personal injury and real estate.
Sandra can be reached at 726-1222, or e-mail sfry@avalonlawyers.ca.
2 charged with harassment and causing a disturbance after protest at N.L. premier's home
Dana Metcalfe and Shane Sweeney due back in court to enter plea in November
Dana Metcalfe, 47, of Portugal Cove-St. Philip's, and Shane Sweeney, 34, of Carbonear had their first appearance at provincial court in St. John's on Thursday. The charges were officially filed Wednesday.
Metcalfe and Sweeney are on court conditions to stay away from the premier's home and not have any contact with him and a family member.
They are due back in court on Nov. 2 for election and plea.
St. John's lawyer Averill Baker is listed in court filings as representing Metcalfe. She did not respond to requests for comment Friday.
Newfoundland and Labrador director of public prosecutions Lisa Stead told CBC News that a Crown attorney will be brought in from Nova Scotia to handle the case.
According to Stead, that's being done to avoid allegations of conflict of interest, given that one of the alleged victims is the premier.
When asked about the charges by CBC News, Furey said he would not have any formal comment on anything before the courts.
"I will say this: when people step up to serve, they don't step up to have protests in their home, to have their children frightened, to have their family frightened," the premier said after an unrelated announcement in Labrador City on Friday.
"While I will not comment on any specifics of any legal matter, I will say that I found it — as a father, as a husband, as a homeowner — troubling and concerning. I think regardless of political stripe, the people of the province deserve leaders, deserve representatives, that don't have to put up with that abuse."
The incident outside Furey's home that led to the charges occurred on July 9.
Video posted on Sweeney's Facebook feed shows a line of honking cars and smoke flares as the narrator describes a "surprise convoy" to the premier's residence. Someone off camera appears to be speaking through a megaphone.
The same video is posted on Metcalfe's Facebook and X (previously known as Twitter) accounts.
Metcalfe is a former People's Party of Canada candidate who helped organize Newfoundland participation in the so-called "Freedom Convoy" to Ottawa last year.
She described herself as "East Coast convoy leader" in a "Hug A Trucker" press conference after the invocation of the federal Emergencies Act in February 2022.
Metcalfe was also part of a 2021 protest in St. John's against vaccine mandates.
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