Alberta judge facing a complaint after jailing a pregnant woman who showed up late for court

National Post

27-06-2025

A central Alberta judge is facing a judicial complaint after jailing a pregnant woman who showed up late for court.
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Earlier this month, Edmonton defence lawyer Samantha Labahn asked the Alberta Judicial Council to review the actions of Justice Gordon Hatch, a Court of Justice judge in the court's central region.
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At issue is Hatch's decision to briefly jail Labahn's client, Cinda Doyle, who arrived late to her preliminary inquiry earlier this year on charges of income assistance fraud. Doyle was 36 weeks pregnant and intended to arrive on time but relied on others for rides to the Wetaskiwin courthouse, Labahn said.
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Doyle arrived a few minutes after Hatch issued a warrant for her arrest. While Hatch ultimately re-released her, he did so only after the day's proceedings, over protests from the defence.
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Labahn called Hatch's actions 'punitive' and 'vindictive,' and suggested they were part of a pattern among certain central Alberta judges that includes last year's controversial jailing of an Edmonton defence lawyer.
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'(My client) is a very vulnerable person, not even including the fact that she's extremely pregnant,' she said. 'This is somebody who is not financially independent. This is somebody with addiction issues.'
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'She just has barriers, which a lot of people in Wetaskiwin and around those areas have, and (Hatch) knows that, which is why it's particularly jarring.'
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The Crown withdrew charges against Doyle the following month.
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Doyle was charged with defrauding more than $5,000 from income assistance programs between 2018 and 2021. She faced a preliminary hearing on the allegations in Wetaskiwin last Feb. 10-11.
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By Hatch's estimate, Doyle was around an hour late on the first day of the hearing. She apologized and blamed snowy road conditions. Doyle was also a minute late, by Labahn's estimate, when court resumed after a break. Hatch warned Doyle twice, telling her she could be detained for arriving late.
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The next morning, Hatch opened court around 9:30 a.m. and issued an arrest warrant after determining Doyle was not in the courthouse.
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'If she arrives in the next 15 minutes, she is to be taken into custody, and we will continue the preliminary inquiry in that fashion,' Hatch told a sheriff, calling Doyle an 'absconding accused.'
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Doyle arrived around 9:42 a.m., Labahn said, upset and afraid she would be sent to the remand centre. Prior to Doyle's arrival, Labahn and the Crown prosecutor agreed she could be re-released under the same conditions, but Hatch refused to hear the application until after the day's proceedings. Hatch said Doyle 'chose' to be late, and gave no indication he would ultimately agree to release her.