shaniasupersite.com

Twain does not have to appear at doctor’s trial

Toronto Star
By Curtis Rush
August 22, 2011

A judge ruled in favour Monday of the crown’s application to have music superstar Shania Twain appear by video link at the upcoming trial of alleged stalker Dr. John Palumbo, denying the defence bid to have her appear in person at a trial set for Sept. 29, 30 and Oct. 18 in Toronto.

Gary Barnes, an Ottawa lawyer representing Palumbo, refused to comment, telling a reporter as he strode off: “I don’t comment on a judge’s decision when I’m going to trial.”

Barnes said it’s not known yet which day Twain will give her video testimony.

Palumbo, 51, a general practitioner, did not react either as he was led out of court in handcuffs.

Justice Richard Schneider said he didn’t find that having the celebrity testify by video would be “contrary to the principle of fundamental justice,” although he allowed that it is “less desirable” than having her appear in person.

Earlier, the lawyer for Palumbo rejected arguments for the application, saying that the singer should not be afforded special status.

“She should be here,” the lawyer told the court.

Palumbo, who once made a six-figure salary and drove a Lamborghini as an Ottawa doctor, has been in jail since March 27 after he was arrested outside the Air Canada Centre, where Twain was appearing at the Juno Awards.

Palumbo was charged with criminal harassment and violating court orders to stay away from the singer. Palumbo has sent the entertainer flowers and love letters and was spotted outside her Muskoka cottage several times in 2009. He was also suspected of attending her grandmother’s funeral last August in Timmins.

Palumbo, who has a history of mental health issues, has said he is in love with Twain and wants to express his love to her in person. He has complained that her handlers are preventing Twain from telling Palumbo how she feels about him.

In court Monday, Palumbo was asked how he pleads: “Not guilty,” said the bespectacled Palumbo, dressed all in black with grey hair falling in strands down his neck.

In this case, Barnes said, he can find no case law suggesting a “superstar” doesn’t have to testify in person.

“What is so special about this individual?” Barnes said, countering the argument that the entertainer doesn’t want to be victimized again. If victimization were the issue, the lawyer asked the judge, why aren’t all other such cases done on video?

“Why is this necessary? It’s not used very often,” Barnes said. “Why don’t we use this (video links) all the time?”

The court heard the entertainer would bear the brunt of significant expenses, including flight and expenses for her security team, if she were compelled to testify in person. She has several residences, but her home base is Switzerland.

Barnes again dismissed that argument, “Why not get on a plane? She travels herself all the time. I’m coming all the way from Ottawa.”

The lawyer for Palumbo wondered aloud if there is a fear of all the publicity outside the courtroom. However, he countered that Twain is a worldwide entertainer and always courts attention and publicity, so why should this be any different?

Barnes suggested to the judge that Twain may know less than she should about this case. He argued she is too “insulated” by her handlers to know all the facts of the case.

Barnes said that a week before the last trial in 2011 involving harassment charges against Palumbo, in Ottawa, Twain told the court she would not attend and received a public scolding from the judge for wasting “scarce” court time as well as police and prosecution time. The charges against Palumbo were withdrawn.

Barnes suggested that Twain didn’t learn about the trial because her handlers didn’t tell her.

Her withdrawal then prompted Barnes to ask the court if this time it will different. “Is she going to show up?”

Taking the stand Monday, the detective in charge of the case against Palumbo, officer Mark Daniels of 52 Division, said he has been in regular telephone contact with Frederic Thiebaud, the husband of Twain, but never had a discussion with Twain herself. He said in his telephone discussions with her husband, it was clear to him that Twain was always present.

Palumbo’s lawyer argued that Twain’s presence is needed in court “to see her demeanour” in cross-examination. With a video link, Barnes argued, “you do not have human interaction.” A trial judge needs to see that, he added.

The crown told the court that while Twain said she is available on all three dates proposed for the trial, she will be out of the country.

John Flaherty, who was making the application for the crown to have Twain appear, said arrangements have been made at an undisclosed location outside the country to have Twain appear on a large 50-inch HD screen from a secure room to protect the integrity of her testimony.

While no technical glitches are expected, the lawyer for Palumbo argued that video links aren’t fullproof.

“In my 35 years of practice, always something ends up going wrong,” he told the judge.

Palumbo, dressed in black overcoat, trousers and blue running shoes, watched the proceedings quietly.

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