Showing posts with label polygamy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label polygamy. Show all posts

4 Jun 2011

Mormon fundamentalist leader must testify in tax case and reveal details of polygamy and child brides in Bountiful



Vancouver Sun  -  Canada    June 8, 2011

Polygamous leader's tax trial set for January


By Daphne Bramham | Vancouver Sun



Polygamous leader Winston Blackmore will testify under oath for the first time about his ‘lifestyle’ during his 12-day trial in federal Tax Court begins Jan. 23, 2012.

Blackmore had asked for an unprecedented ban on the publication and use of any witness testimony or evidence related to polygamy during his tax trial so that none of that information could be used against him in any future criminal trial. His motion was denied by Judge Campbell Miller. Blackmore is not appealing the decision and now has three months to pay the $50,000 in court costs that Miller ordered him to pay.

Polygamy is illegal in Canada, but the law is under review by Chief Justice Robert Bauman of the B.C. Supreme Court, who was asked by the B.C. government to determine if the criminal sanction is constitutional since the Charter of Rights guarantees religious freedom and freedom of expression.

Blackmore’s unprecedented request was denied earlier this month, clearing the way for his trial which is also a precedent-setting case to determine how he and his extended family ought to be taxed.

Blackmore is appealing the reassessment of his personal income tax filings for 2002 to 2006 that concluded he had under-estimated his earnings by $1.5 million and the $147,000 he was assessed in penalties.

At issue is whether Blackmore’s large family (which includes 19 or more wives and more than 130 children), plus his extended family of siblings and their multiple wives and children constitute a "congregation" for tax purposes.

The government of Canada says they don’t. Up until 2002 when he was ex-communicated by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Blackmore was the bishop of the congregation in Bountiful, B.C. Since then, the government says he and his family are not "a constituent part of any religious organization."

In Tax Court, it’s up to the taxpayer to prove that the government’s interpretation is wrong. So, it will be up to Blackmore, his wives and others to prove that they all lived and worked together and share beliefs. And under cross-examination, lawyers for Canada will be able to ask questions about all of that including how many wives Blackmore had during the disputed tax years and where they all lived.

This article was found at:

http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/thinktank/archive/2011/06/08/polygamous-leader-s-tax-trial-set-for-january.aspx

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CBC News - Canada June 3, 2011

Polygamist leader to testify at tax trial



The testimony of polygamist leader Winston Blackmore at his tax trial won't be protected by a publication ban, meaning the public may soon learn much more about the inner workings of the polygamous community of Bountiful, B.C.

Blackmore is facing charges in federal court in Vancouver for allegedly owing up to $1 million in back taxes. At issue is whether his community qualifies as a religious congregation under the law.

Blackmore had specifically asked the court to ban the publication of testimony related to polygamy. His lawyer told the court Blackmore is worried such evidence could be used against him in a potential criminal prosecution.

But Justice Campbell Miller ruled Blackmore himself has given numerous interviews on the subject and also found any criminal proceedings that might arise would be too far in the future to prejudice a jury.

The judge has also declined Blackmore's request that he be immune from criminal prosecution for any evidence he gives in the tax case.

Details about polygamist community expected

CBC lawyer Dan Burnett says once the trial gets underway, it will be the first time Blackmore will be compelled to testify under oath at a trial.

"I expect you're going to hear some information about the practices and approaches and beliefs in the community we haven't heard before," Burnett said.

"There will be no restriction on the public being able to hear and see all the evidence as to the issue in the case, which even though it's a tax case, it's about whether Bountiful is a congregation within the meaning of the Tax Act, and that's going to get into what beliefs they share spiritually and all that."

The trial was set to begin Monday but was postponed while the judge ruled on Blackmore's request for a publication ban. Blackmore could still appeal Friday's decision, and a new date for the start of the trial has yet to be set.

No ruling on polygamy laws

B.C. Crown lawyer Craig Jones has said it's no secret Blackmore is a polygamist, and the tax case will force him to talk about marriages among 12- and 13-year-olds in the community.

Blackmore could still face criminal charges in connection with his marriages, even though two past attempts to prosecute him for polygamy have failed.

The chief justice of the B.C. Supreme Court is expected to rule later this year on the constitutionality of the law banning polygamy following a special months-long hearing in Vancouver that ended in April.

Chief Justice Robert Bauman spent several months hearing testimony and legal arguments about whether the prohibition against multiple marriages is constitutional, and much of the case focused on allegations of abuse in the small religious commune of Bountiful.

If Bauman rules the ban on polygamy is permissible under the Charter or Rights, the B.C. government is likely to renew its prosecution of Blackmore, it has indicated.


This article was found at:


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Vancouver Sun  -  June 4, 2011

Tax Court gets interesting when polygamist comes to town

Winston Blackmore denied a sweeping publication ban that would have shielded evidence and testimony from the public eye

By Daphne Bramham


The federal Tax Court is a genteel place, a white-collar court where the only crime being tried is tax evasion.

Unlike provincial courts, no sheriffs in bulletproof vests stand guard. Instead, a single commissionaire sits behind a desk on the sixth floor of an office building at the heart of downtown Vancouver.

He politely asks people to hang up their coats and leave umbrellas and bags in the closet. That done, he reminds them to turn cellphones off.

But high-profile polygamist Winston Blackmore brought some chaos into the calm world this week, along with his tax troubles, of which he has $1.5 million worth for the years 2000 to 2006.

He asked for unprecedented shielding of evidence and testimony. He wanted a publication ban and an order from Judge Campbell Miller that none of it could be used in any future criminal trial involving polygamy.

And if that weren't possible, Blackmore asked that his tax trial be adjourned until after the reference case on the constitutionality of Canada's polygamy law is finally determined or until any future criminal trial (with him as the defendant) was completed.

He didn't get any of it. But if his intent was to delay, that much he got at a price of $50,000 to be paid to the Department of Justice for its costs.

Blackmore's audacious motion attracted journalists and their lawyers as well as lawyers from B.C.'s attorney-general's ministry.

In Courtroom 601, where arcane sections of Canada's thick tax acts are normally debated and parsed, Craig Jones (B.C.'s lead lawyer in the polygamy reference case) raised the spectre of child brides and human trafficking victims.

If Miller were to grant such an unprecedented shield on evidence, Jones argued that Miller could be thwarting prosecutions of those crimes as well if he granted Blackmore's request.

The Tax Court judge made it clear that none of this made him happy. He wasn't happy that the motion was filed two working days before the trial's scheduled start, even though two weeks earlier Blackmore's lawyer David Davies had assured Miller there were no impediments to the trial.

The judge wasn't happy with media lawyers and a lawyer from the B.C. attorney-general's ministry in his court.

It's not that Miller -a legal scholar with a master's degree in law (first class) from Cambridge University -wasn't up to dealing with this unprecedented motion.

Even though several times, the judge expressed surprise at the "paucity of jurisprudence on incriminating evidence from civil suits being used in criminal matters," it took him only one day to craft his crisp, oral decision rendered Friday.

Miller denied every aspect of Blackmore's motion even as he expressed "real concern" that the government could use the Tax Court "as fertile, fact-finding territory" to gather evidence for criminal charges against polygamists or drug dealers.

He said citizens are already disadvantaged in Tax Court because the onus is on them to "demolish" the assumptions the government makes in its tax assessments.

Miller did rule that Blackmore is a "compellable witness" even though Davies didn't ask for that.

The judge said it could provide Blackmore some protection from evidence being used to incriminate him in a future trial.

Further, Miller suggested Davies subpoena witnesses to support Blackmore's contention that he, his family and other residents of Bountiful constitute a "congregation." That way, Miller said, the witnesses can argue in any future criminal trial that their testimony was not freely given.

Although agreeing that Blackmore raised an important issue of selfincrimination in civil courts, Miller objected to his timing and ordered Blackmore to pay $50,000 to the government for extra costs incurred by the trial's delay.

He didn't, however, agree with the government that no trial be set until the bill is paid, even though the government has reason for concern that Blackmore's cheque might not arrive. In April 2010, Blackmore had $5.68 million in debt and only $867,000 in assets, according to an affidavit filed in B.C. Supreme Court. He was pleading penury to support an unsuccessful attempt to have taxpayers fund his participation in the constitutional reference case.

Miller gave Davies until Wednesday to get Blackmore's instructions regarding an appeal of the Friday ruling. If there's no appeal, a trial date will be set.

With all that decided, the Tax Court then returned to normal -at least until Blackmore's trial begins.


This article was found at:

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Court+gets+interesting+when+polygamist+comes+town/4893305/story.html


RELATED ARTICLES ON THIS BLOG

Mormon fundamentalist asks court to prevent evidence in tax trial from being used in criminal cases related to polygamy

Mormon fundamentalist leader asks court to exclude evidence against him in Canadian constitutional case on polygamy

Mormon polygamists seek immunity from future prosecution before giving evidence in Canadian constitutional case

Judge will allow anonymous testimony from Mormon polygamists in Canadian constitutional case on polygamy

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Author who escaped abuse in US polygamy cult explains why Canadian constitutional case is so important in both countries

Stop Polygamy in Canada website has notes taken by observers in the courtroom as well as links to most of the affidavits and research the court is considering in this case.

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Posted by Perry Bulwer at 10:48
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3 Jun 2011

Mormon fundamentalist asks court to prevent evidence in tax trial from being used in criminal cases related to polygamy



Vancouver Sun - June 3, 2011

Judge denies polygamist leader's unprecedented request for evidence shield

By Daphne Bramham  |  Vancouver Sun



Canada's highest profile polygamist has not only lost in an attempt to win a sweeping ban on the use of evidence and witness testimony in federal Tax Court, Winston Blackmore was ordered to pay $50,000 in costs.

Winston Blackmore is appealing the Canada Revenue Service's re-assessment of five years of personal income tax filings and its conclusion that he under-estimated his income by $1.5 million. In addition to the re-assessment, the government ordered Blackmore to pay $147,000 in penalties.

The appeal is based on Blackmore's assertion that he, members of his family and other fundamentalist Mormons in Bountiful who accept him as their spiritual leader ought to be taxed as a congregation and not as individuals.

Only days before his case was to go to trial, Blackmore filed a motion asking for the publication ban and a shield on use of evidence and witness testimony in any future criminal prosecution related to polygamy. [see related articles below]

On Friday, Judge Campbell Miller ruled that there would be no ban on publication of evidence and witness testimony; no restriction on future use of the evidence and witness testimony; and, no further delay in the tax trial.

Blackmore was not in court.

In his oral judgment, Miller said Blackmore and his lawyer David Davies fell “well short” of proving the necessity for a publication ban, noting that in the past Blackmore has not shied from publicity and has been open in discussing his polygamous lifestyle.

As for restricting future use of evidence and witness testimony, Miller admitted his concern that the government attempting to use evidence from a civil matter in a criminal case. But he refused to make a precedent setting order that might be viewed as expanding a tax-court appellant's Charter rights.

However, Miller did rule that Blackmore is a “compellable witness” in the Tax Court. Even though Blackmore has brought the tax appeal, Miller noted that reverse onus that tax court puts on citizens appealing their tax assessments gives Blackmore no choice but to testify.

As a compellable witness, Blackmore could argue in a criminal trial that using his testimony and evidence in Tax Court would violate his Charter rights as well as both the Canada and B.C. Evidence acts.

However, Miller noted that there is no guarantee that a judge in a criminal trial would agree and advised that was a risk assessment Blackmore would have to weigh in determining whether to pursue his appeal.

Blackmore's motion was filed only two working days before his two-week trial was scheduled to begin, forcing its adjournment, the judge ordered Blackmore to pay $50,000 for the Department of Justice's lost costs in preparing for a trial that now may be as much as a year away.

A date for a new trial could be set next Wednesday. That's when Miller has asked Davies to advise him and government counsel Lynn Burch of whether Blackmore intends to appeal Friday's ruling. If Blackmore does appeal, Miller said there's no point in setting a trial date until there's an indication of when the appeal might be heard.

This article was found at:

http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/thinktank/archive/2011/06/03/judge-denies-polygamist-leader-s-unprecedented-request-for-evidence-shield.aspx




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Courthouse News Service - May 31, 2011

Polygamist Wants Evidence Protected

By DARRYL GREER


VANCOUVER, B.C. (CN) - As British Columbia's Supreme Court wrestles with the murky legal status of polygamy in Canada, the leader of a British Columbian polygamous community wants the Tax Court of Canada to restrict the use of evidence used in a tax trial in possible subsequent criminal proceedings.
 
Winston Blackmore filed a notice of motion with the Tax Court of Canada naming Her Majesty the Queen as a respondent. Blackmore, in appealing a tax assessment, seeks orders "restricting the publication of any evidence of any witness for the Appellant in the trial of this matter relating to polygamy, plural marriage, 'celestial marriage' (as it is sometimes referred to) or similar practices." 

He also seeks an order directing the government to "not use nor make available to any person or entity for the purposes of prosecution" evidence given by witnesses in the upcoming tax trial relating to polygamy. 

According to the motion, witnesses in the tax trial fear that evidence given about living arrangements and other information about the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may be used in criminal trials after the B.C. Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of criminal laws against polygamy. 

Polygamy laws in the country were long held by legal experts to be unconstitutional under religious freedom provisions in Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, leading the B.C. government to ask the province's Supreme Court to rule on the law's constitutionality last year. 

Blackmore claims his tax assessment appeal will set a precedent "for the appropriate tax treatment of the Bountiful congregation." 

The government, according to the motion, claims that the people of Bountiful are not part of a legitimate religious organization, and given "the polygamous nature of the purported congregation's familial arrangements, any allocation of trust income to families on this basis would be contrary to the intention of Parliament." 

"The outcome of the Appellant's appeal will affect all members of the congregation. The Appellant is thereby practically compelled to testify and to call other witnesses from Bountiful or with first-hand knowledge of Bountiful during the relevant years in order to provide direct evidence of the living arrangements in Bountiful and of the congregation's religious characteristics and affiliations," the motion states. "In short, the evidence of the Witnesses is crucial to the Appellant's case, yet absent the Orders sought, the Witnesses' choice is to incriminate themselves of concede the [tax] assessments under appeal." 

Blackmore is represented by David R. Davies and S. Natasha Reid.

Bountiful, in southeastern British Columbia, has existed for more than 50 years, but has been known as Bountiful only since the 1980s. It has found itself uncomfortably in the media spotlight repeatedly during the past several years.
This article was found at:


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Vancouver Sun  -  June 1, 2011

Blackmore wants a publication ban on evidence in tax case

Notorious polygamist's motion also asks for a court order shielding witness from prosecution for polygamy under Criminal Code

By Daphne Bramham, Vancouver Sun


It's a highly unusual request in the bizarre and unprecedented tax case involving Canada's notorious polygamist, Winston Blackmore, and his family.

The case, which provides a glimpse of how one man is able to afford more than 100 children and more than two dozen wives, was to have been heard over two weeks starting Monday in federal Tax Court in Vancouver.

But on Thursday, Blackmore and his lawyers filed a motion seeking a sweeping publication ban on "any evidence of any witness ... relating to polygamy, plural marriage, 'celestial marriage' (as it is sometimes referred to) or similar practices including any evidence given on examination of discovery or in response to undertakings."

The motion, which is being heard this morning, also asks for a court order shielding those witnesses from prosecution for polygamy either under the existing Criminal Code section or "any successor section that might result from the pending decision in the constitutional reference case that was heard in B.C. Supreme Court."

A decision in that case is still pending.

Blackmore has never denied being a polygamist.

He's had at least 19 "wives," has more than 100 children - at least 40 of whom are under 18, according to Blackmore's affidavit sworn in a different case that was heard in B.C. Supreme Court.

But without the publication ban and a shield from criminal prosecution, Blackmore says no witnesses will testify.

Without their testimony about their religious doctrine of polygamy and the living arrangements within the family and the broader fundamentalist Mormon community of Bountiful, Blackmore argues that it won't be possible to convince the court that they ought to be taxed as a congregation and not as individuals.

"In short, the evidence of the witnesses is crucial," the motion says. "[Y]et absent the orders sought, the witnesses' choice is to incriminate themselves or concede the assessments under appeal."

Between 2000 and 2006, the government claims that Blackmore underestimated by $1.7 million the income, employee and shareholder benefits he received from J.R. Blackmore and Sons, of which he is president.

It's not clear how much Blackmore owes if the reassessment is upheld.

However, the assessed gross negligence penalties total just under $149,000.

In the years covered by the reassessment, Blackmore's claimed income never exceeded $45,000 and was "far too little to financially support him, his purported polygamous 'wives' and the many children issued from those relationships," according to the government's amended pleadings.

What Blackmore did was have the company pay his own and his family's personal and living expenses.

For example, according to the government, the company paid a salary to Ruth Lane, one of Blackmore's wives, even though she did no work for the company.

It paid tuition for the University of Calgary, expenses and a salary to his son, Joseph.

It paid for a Cessna aircraft, its maintenance and fuel, even though the company used it only 20 per cent of the time.

The company paid property taxes and garbage removal fees for accommodation used by family members as well as their automobile insurance, vehicle allowances, gas, electricity and telephone bills.

Restaurant meals, hockey tickets and rink rentals charged to Blackmore's credit cards were paid by the company. From 1992 to 2002, Blackmore and his family even received shareholder dividends.

Blackmore claims it was all done for the greater good of the congregation.

But the government says, the majority of Bountiful's 1,000 residents had no role in the company's business and that it "operated for the primary benefit" of Winston Blackmore.

Yet, even if the judge eventually determines that Bountiful is a congregation, the government says Blackmore still didn't claim anything close to what he earned in salary and benefits and never paid the taxman anywhere near what he owes.

And nor did other members of his family.

This article was found at:



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Globe and Mail  -  June 1, 2011

Blackmore seeks publication ban on polygamy details in tax court

KEVEN DREWS  |  The Canadian Press



VANCOUVER— Details of child brides and the polygamist way of life in Bountiful, B.C., could burst into the public domain in unprecedented detail thanks to the tax man.

Winston Blackmore, one of the leaders of the breakaway Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the province’s southeast, has been assessed hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes and penalties.

He’s fighting the assessment in federal tax court.

But before the proceedings could begin, Mr. Blackmore’s lawyer, David Davies, asked the court Wednesday to ban from publication details related to polygamy.

He also asked the court to ensure any evidence heard during the trial can’t be used in any future criminal trials.

Mr. Davies said the orders would protect Mr. Blackmore’s future rights to a fair trial and the administration of justice.

But B.C. Crown lawyer Craig Jones said the application is really about keeping evidence of criminality, specifically child marriage, out of the public domain and subsequent courts.

“It’s no secret he’s a polygamist,” said Mr. Jones of Mr. Blackmore.

Mr. Jones said that under cross-examination, Mr. Blackmore will have to talk about marriages to 12- and 13-year-olds.

“And that’s going to get someone’s attention.”

Mr. Jones said authorities in Canada, Utah and Texas are conducting ongoing investigations into the sect’s activities.

“That’s what this is about,” Mr. Jones said.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge is considering Canada’s 121-year-old ban on polygamy.

This past January, the RCMP announced a renewed criminal investigation focusing on Bountiful after the B.C. Supreme Court heard evidence that teenaged girls were taken across the Canada-U.S. border to be married.

Church records seized in the United States outline the marriage of more than two dozen girls who were as young as 12.

Meantime, Mr. Blackmore’s legal battle with tax authorities has been taking place since the 2000 tax year. As the dispute has worn on, Mr. Blackmore has amassed negligence penalties alone amounting to almost $150,000.

Crown documents filed in response to Mr. Blackmore’s appeal indicate Mr. Blackmore under-reported $1.85-million in income and employee and shareholder benefits received by J.R. Blackmore and Sons, Ltd.

Mr. Blackmore is the majority owner of the company.

In the documents, the Crown argues Mr. Blackmore’s reported earnings were “insufficient to financially support him, his purported polygamous ‘wives’ and the many children issued from those relationships.”

The Crown alleges credit card expenses, tuition for a son, rents, car insurance and hockey tickets, among other basic living expenses, were paid for by the company.

The documents also say the company paid a $41,000 salary to one of Mr. Blackmore’s wives in 2003 when she didn’t do any work for the company.

“The amounts expended by the company in respect of the personal and living expenses of its shareholders and their extended families was part of a purposeful and deliberate plan to reduce taxes at the corporate level and to benefit the shareholders’ extended families,” the Crown says in its court response to Mr. Blackmore.

Mr. Blackmore’s lawyers argue the company was a business agent of a Bountiful congregation.

Justice Campbell Miller of the Tax Court of Canada made no ruling on the application Wednesday.

He said while he expects to rule on the publication ban Friday, he may need more time to consider Mr. Blackmore’s application to ensure anything heard in tax court can’t be used against him in a criminal case.

This article was found at:



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