(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
August 13, 2013 - 5:13 PM
KAMLOOPS - The Adrian Miller courtroom show was back on display in B.C. Supreme Court yesterday, this time arguing for free access to court documents so he can appeal a criminal case he pleaded guilty to.
Miller, who has argued on his own behalf in criminal and civil court many times, was denied an application to have court transcripts paid for using public funds yesterday in B.C. Supreme Court.
"There is no fundamental right to have transcripts provided at no cost," said B.C. Supreme Court justice Dev Dley.
Miller, 27, representing himself, sought the transcripts to appeal his own guilty plea for one count of fraud.
"I did not fully understand what I was pleading guilty to," he said.
The charge has affected him as a landed immigrant in Canada from the United Kingdom and has cut him off from permanent disability funds he was receiving prior to his plea.
Miller, a former school board trustee candidate, has spent time in and out of the court system for criminal and civil matters. Yesterday in court he called a plea bargain he made with the Crown a 'miscarriage of justice.'
"It was the Crown counsel at the time playing a very strong hardball," he said. "When an individual is put under enough pressure, they will act."
Miller asked the court to either pay the $325 for court transcripts for his appeal, foot $225 of it with him paying $100 in 'good faith' or give him an extension to pay it himself.
Dley chose the latter.
He said Miller was represented by experienced council at the time of his guilty plea and is capable of paying for the transcripts himself, with time.
"I'm going to grant an extension of time for Mr. Miller to have the transcripts produced," Dley said, providing Miller with a date of Sept. 30. "If they are not filed by 10 a.m., the Crown will be at liberty to dismiss your appeal."
To contact a reporter for this story, email: jwallace@infotelnews.ca, call: (250) 319-7494 or tweet: @jess__wallace.
News from © iNFOnews, 2013