IAAW, LEAF given intervener status in Gladue murder-case appeal

March 10, 2016.  Alberta's Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday that the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund Inc. (LEAF) and the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women will be allowed to intervene in the appeal in the murder case of Cindy Gladue. A jury delivered a not-guilty finding against Ontario trucker Bradley Barton, who had been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Gladue, a sex worker in Edmonton. Barton’s lawyer argued that Gladue had died from a wound inflicted during rough sex. Court of Appeal Justice Ronald Berger ruled the three-judge Court of Appeal panel would "benefit from the unique perspectives of the interveners whose written submissions will assist the court in a meaningful way." Kim Stanton of LEAF said the case is important for how the criminal justice system treats Indigenous women as well as to combat the “rape myths that are perpetuated in the criminal justice system (which) are to some degree reflected in this case as well.”