CALGARY JUDGE APOLOGIZES FOR SLEEPING IN COURT

A Calgary judge apologized Monday for falling asleep earlier this
month during a sentencing hearing for a man he had convicted of
trafficking in heroin.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice John Moore then stepped aside after
dismissing a mistrial application.

Moore, 73, appointed to the bench in 1992 and less than two years from
mandatory retirement, admitted he has a medical problem that is being
addressed.

"Since Dec. 1, I have reviewed my sleep problem with a doctor and have
further appointments," Moore said. "It may be time before my medical
problem is solved."

The judge found Nicholas Cypui Chan, 26, guilty in July of selling two
ounces of heroin to an undercover city police officer on Nov. 15,
1999, and possession of $7,000 from the proceeds of crime.

Moore admitted he was asleep for an undetermined number of minutes
while Chan was testifying about alleged human right violations at the
Calgary Remand Centre, in particular the facility not fulfilling his
order to serve Chan vegetarian meals.

"I want to start by apologizing to all lawyers who were here on Dec. 1
- -- defence counsel, Crown counsel, representative of the attorney
general. In addition, I apologize to Mr. Chan," Moore said earlier
Monday.

"I fell asleep during Mr. Chan's testimony. Since Dec. 1, I have
listened to the sound recording and have read the transcripts of the
evidence. There is no certain, positive way of knowing how long I was
asleep. Defence counsel speculates five minutes . . . (but) could be
wrong in estimation."

Defence lawyer Tom Engel filed the mistrial application on behalf of
Chan the following day.

Chan took it a step further on Monday when he alleged in an affidavit
that the sleeping incident "reminded me of frequent occasions during
trial, before verdict, when the trial judge appeared not to be paying
attention."

Crown prosecutor Bob Sigurdson stressed such allegations were
unfounded and, if they occurred, should have been addressed at the
time.

Sigurdson also argued only a brief portion of the drug trafficker's
Dec. 1 testimony was missed and even though there was an admitted
mistake by the judge, it did not warrant a mistrial that would
overturn the guilty verdicts.

The judge said consideration for health reasons and a fair and
reasonable perception by the public and the accused is a critical
consideration. For that reason, he said sentencing would be done by
another judge. The case has been set over until the next arraignments
on Jan. 12.