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Toronto courthouse overflows with G20 appearances; several have charges dropped
By Allison Jones And Mary Gazze
TORONTO – A group of 303 people charged with G20-related offences was whittled down Monday as many of the accused that flooded a Toronto courthouse had their charges withdrawn.
A crush of accused and their family members descended on the west-end courthouse almost two months after a small but violent group of people dressed in black broke free of a peaceful summit protest, setting police cars ablaze and vandalizing banks.
The majority of people who appeared Monday were arrested June 26 at a protest at the Ontario legislature, several blocks from the chaotic scenes that unfolded just hours earlier in downtown Toronto, police said.
Monday’s proceedings were believed to be one of the largest mass court appearances the city has ever seen.
Despite the volume of cases, most had wrapped up by 3 p.m.
While reports suggested dozens of people saw their charges withdrawn, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s office said those numbers would not be available until Tuesday.
The hundreds of accused were spread over three small courtrooms, where they crammed onto the few benches. There were long lineups snaking through the hallways as people waited to be called.
Once people were before the court their cases were dealt with briskly in one courtroom, but some dragged on for almost an hour in another. Many were adjourned to dates in September and October, and other appearances were quickly over with one word from the Crown attorney: “withdrawn.”
Others were offered a “diversion” deal which means the charges were dropped in exchange for a donation to charity.
Marc Laramee, one of the accused whose cases was put over until October, said he was offered the deal but refused.
“I have to pay a fee of $25, but by doing so it’s like saying that I am guilty of something,” Laramee said.
“I’m not, so I want to continue my fighting over here because I want to clear my name 100 per cent.”
Source: http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/headline_news/article.jsp?content=b4283292