Six Nations: Trevor Miller Still In Jail
As a legal worker, I have sat through many bail hearings, set dates and trials but today in Cayuga's Superior Court was the strangest by far. I felt like at any minute I would hear "do-do-do-do do-do-do-do you are now entering the Twilight Zone" coming out over a loud speaker.
It started, as is customary for Miller court appearances, with the gallery refusing to stand when the judge entered. When Miller came in people stood up and because he stayed standing the whole time, so did pretty much everyone else.
For a little while it seemed like things were following normal courthouse procedure. The crown, defense lawyer and judge discussed how to proceed given that the scheduled bail hearing was not going to take place because the transcripts weren't finished.
After a little while, the Judge called up Stewart Myiow from the Mohawk Traditional Counsel (MTC). Trevor's lawyer had informed the judge that the MTC intended to seek intervener status. Generally it would be unheard of to have someone address the court, especially in Superior Court, who isn't a lawyer when there is one on the case; however, because Miller is Mohawk and it is the position of the Mohawk nation that the court had no jurisdiction over him, the judge allowed him to speak.
Myiow requested that Trevor be released into the custody of the MTC and when the judge entertained the idea I began to believe I had entered a parallel universe. I didn't think this because it was legally impossible, in fact the opposite is true. The judge had the jurisdiction to release him and, while it is rarely done, it can happen. Rather I thought this because, up to that point, not a single judge has even considered this, not because the charges were overly severe or because he is truly a flight risk, but because they work for a racist system and because he is a political prisoner. In my experience, almost all political prisoners in "Canada" get off at trial or do very little time (certainly not always the case). The cops and the crowns know they often don't have strong cases against people so they try and get people's bails denied in order to punish them before trial. Indeed, innocent until proven guilty is a myth and Trevor is living the consequences of our legal reality right now.
It is patently unreasonable the Miller is still in custody given his charges which is probably why the judge felt he needed to inquire as to the circumstances of the original bail hearing and the reasons for his detention. The crown was very helpful and offered up a great deal of useful information (more evidence of the parallelism). A recess was called so Trevor could instruct his lawyer and, I believe, so the judge could consider the request for release.
After the recess, Trevor came back wearing a ribbon shirt and the traditional Mohawk headdress. This was also quite odd as the courts don't normally allow prisoners to be given things while in the courthouse as his mother had done. Then, the judge said he needed to wait until a proper bail review (to be set later) because the issues were very complex and he didn't feel like he could make the decision without the transcripts. He scheduled with the lawyers and figured out a way to set a bail review date quickly. The judge then said that if there was nothing else they could deal with today that he would adjourn.
Stewart Myiow said at that point "there is one other thing you could do...you could release Trevor Miller." The judge said that he couldn't do that today and adjourned. The clerk ordered that "all rise" and everyone sat down.
Maybe we entered a parallel universe but, more realistically, it was just another day in the kangaroo court that deals with Six Nations: largely racist and unable to grasp basic concepts of justice and sovereignty, sometimes comical, and entirely about quashing resistance - no matter how nice the judge seems to be.
For more information, read the Spectator article.
It started, as is customary for Miller court appearances, with the gallery refusing to stand when the judge entered. When Miller came in people stood up and because he stayed standing the whole time, so did pretty much everyone else.
For a little while it seemed like things were following normal courthouse procedure. The crown, defense lawyer and judge discussed how to proceed given that the scheduled bail hearing was not going to take place because the transcripts weren't finished.
After a little while, the Judge called up Stewart Myiow from the Mohawk Traditional Counsel (MTC). Trevor's lawyer had informed the judge that the MTC intended to seek intervener status. Generally it would be unheard of to have someone address the court, especially in Superior Court, who isn't a lawyer when there is one on the case; however, because Miller is Mohawk and it is the position of the Mohawk nation that the court had no jurisdiction over him, the judge allowed him to speak.
Myiow requested that Trevor be released into the custody of the MTC and when the judge entertained the idea I began to believe I had entered a parallel universe. I didn't think this because it was legally impossible, in fact the opposite is true. The judge had the jurisdiction to release him and, while it is rarely done, it can happen. Rather I thought this because, up to that point, not a single judge has even considered this, not because the charges were overly severe or because he is truly a flight risk, but because they work for a racist system and because he is a political prisoner. In my experience, almost all political prisoners in "Canada" get off at trial or do very little time (certainly not always the case). The cops and the crowns know they often don't have strong cases against people so they try and get people's bails denied in order to punish them before trial. Indeed, innocent until proven guilty is a myth and Trevor is living the consequences of our legal reality right now.
It is patently unreasonable the Miller is still in custody given his charges which is probably why the judge felt he needed to inquire as to the circumstances of the original bail hearing and the reasons for his detention. The crown was very helpful and offered up a great deal of useful information (more evidence of the parallelism). A recess was called so Trevor could instruct his lawyer and, I believe, so the judge could consider the request for release.
After the recess, Trevor came back wearing a ribbon shirt and the traditional Mohawk headdress. This was also quite odd as the courts don't normally allow prisoners to be given things while in the courthouse as his mother had done. Then, the judge said he needed to wait until a proper bail review (to be set later) because the issues were very complex and he didn't feel like he could make the decision without the transcripts. He scheduled with the lawyers and figured out a way to set a bail review date quickly. The judge then said that if there was nothing else they could deal with today that he would adjourn.
Stewart Myiow said at that point "there is one other thing you could do...you could release Trevor Miller." The judge said that he couldn't do that today and adjourned. The clerk ordered that "all rise" and everyone sat down.
Maybe we entered a parallel universe but, more realistically, it was just another day in the kangaroo court that deals with Six Nations: largely racist and unable to grasp basic concepts of justice and sovereignty, sometimes comical, and entirely about quashing resistance - no matter how nice the judge seems to be.
For more information, read the Spectator article.
posted by DAMN 2025 at 9:54 p.m.
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