The family of a nine-year-old girl who was hit by a driver accused of driving high has been granted permission to smudge inside a Saskatoon Provincial courtroom.
Taylor Kennedy is charged with THC-impaired driving causing the death of Baeleigh Maurice.
Maurice was going to school on Sept. 9, 2021, pushing her scooter at a crosswalk on 33rd Street West when she was struck.
Kennedy’s trial began on Tuesday at Saskatoon Provincial Court.
Maurice’s mother Rochelle Cook said “it’s traumatizing” to see Kennedy in the courtroom.
Maurice’s family packed the courtroom wearing sweaters and ribbons that read, “Justice for Baeleigh.”
Police told CTV News that officers were called to the courthouse on Tuesday afternoon for Kennedy’s departure, at the request of the sheriff’s office.
A unit attended and there were no issues, according to a spokesperson
“An incident happened outside of the courthouse where the police were called,” Cook said.
“We’re always looking for justice and awareness and to show our support and we were treated like we were a mob with retaliation. That was very unfair.”
Cook’s lawyer made a request for the family to smudge inside the courtroom.
“The courtroom is a very hostile environment and that’s why I'm glad we reached out in this application to smudge,” Cook said.
After meeting with courthouse officials, to discuss ventilation concerns, Judge Jane Marie Wootten approved the request.
“There's a lot of built-up energies that are negative right now, a lot of mixed emotions and we just want to smudge the courtroom and clear the air for everybody that is calm,” said Cook’s uncle Clinton Elliot.
Smudging will be allowed on Thursday morning, the third day of the trial.
Police didn’t read accused her rights until after positive drug test, witness testifies
Const. Shelby McLean, who responded to the crash scene, took the stand as the Crown’s third witness.
McLean said Kennedy was hysterical at the scene. She testified Kennedy was trembling, shaking and vomited near her police vehicle.
McLean testified she brought Kennedy into her patrol vehicle and told Kennedy she would have to give a statement to police about the circumstances of the crash.
At that time, Kennedy admitted she consumed cannabis and microdosed magic mushrooms the day before.
As a result of that admission, police called for an oral drug test at the scene. It read positive for THC.
According to testimony and police vehicle recordings, officers did not read Kennedy her rights before asking questions and taking the drug test.
McLean testified rights were only read out after Kennedy failed the swabbed drug test.
Kennedy was then told she has the right to contact a lawyer, and she made a call, according to McLean.
Defence lawyer, Thomas Hynes, questioned why Kennedy wasn’t read her rights earlier.
Hynes referenced the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of criminal investigations McLean said she was involved in.
“At no point do you ask yourself, ‘Has she been told she’s detained? Has she been allowed to talk to a lawyer?’ … It didn’t cross your mind?”
McLean said she was “more focused on the fact that [Kennedy] was extremely upset.”
An admissibility hearing, known as a voir dire, is underway to determine if the evidence can be used in the trial.
The trial continues Thursday.
