EDMONTON, Alta. — The Alberta Court of Appeal has dismissed an application on Nov. 2 by a convicted sex offender seeking a state-funded lawyer for his sentence appeal.
Donald Earl Burnett pleaded guilty to offences against five women, including assault causing bodily harm to an intimate partner, obstruction of justice involving another intimate partner, sexual assault of two other women and unlawful confinement. He was sentenced to a global term of 3,285 days, reduced to 2,256 days after credit for pre-sentence custody, leaving six years and 66 days to serve.
In a unanimous memorandum filed Nov. 2, Justices Strekaf, Kirker and Fagnan found that while Burnett has insufficient means to hire a lawyer, the remaining factors under Section 684 of the Criminal Code weighed against granting him counsel.
Burnett is seeking to challenge the credit he received for time spent in the Edmonton Remand Centre, where he claims he was physically and mentally abused. The court noted that his sentence followed a joint submission made with the benefit of counsel, and that the Crown withdrew several charges as part of the plea agreement. Apart from the remand credit calculation, Burnett does not argue the sentence was demonstrably unfit for the multiple serious offences.
The court also rejected Burnett’s claim that his limited English skills made the appeal too complex to handle alone, noting that the Crown said this was the first time the concern had been raised and that Burnett was able to explain his position and respond to submissions at the hearing.
The proposed appeal was found to lack sufficient merit to justify public funding and did not raise issues of broader societal concern. The application was dismissed.
A publication ban prohibits identifying the victims or a witness in the case.
