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Abstract
The following paper reviews the legal process used to try Louis Riel and examines the question whether Riel had a substantive defence in law. The unfairness of the trial is manifest. In addition to the racial and religious prejudice that permeated the case, and the outright manipulation of the process, it is clear that the trial and subsequent execution failed to meet the requirements of the Treason Act and the common law. Nor was this all. Since the only defence presented at the trial was insanity, Riel found himself arguing, against his own lawyers, that he was sane. His attempt to defend himself further was finessed by the Crown, which took the position that the defence could not raise the defence of insanity and contest the merits of the case. As a result, the trial proceeded on the basis that the merits of the case had been admitted and Riel was put in the invidious position of arguing for his own conviction.
All of this is in spite of the fact that he raised two substantive defences in his speech to the jury. The first was that the Canadian Crown had never obtained title to the government of the Northwest Territories, which was held by its inhabitants; and equally, to much the same effect, that the British and Canadian Crown had forfeited any right they had to the government of the Territories by abandoning the people. The second argument was that the Métis had not merely a right but also a duty to defend themselves. The Northwest was a country in its own right and Canada was an invader, which had merely annexed its neighbour. However difficult it may have been to consider these arguments in the political ferment of the time, there are many reasons to believe that the verdict in the trial is unsafe and should be legally reconsidered.
Résumé
Cet article passe en revue les processus légaux dont on s'est servi afin de juger Louis Riel et examine la question suivante: a-t-il eu droit à une défense adéquate sur le plan légal? L'injustice du procès est flagrante. Outre les préjugés raciaux et religieux omniprésents au procès, et la manipulation de la procédure, il est clair que le procès et l'exécution...