13 July 2010

Court Proceedings Begin for
Young Stuntman

Chris Ball.

Cochrane Alberta - A lawyer appeared in Cochrane Provincial Court 8 Jul 2010 on behalf of Chris Ball, the local teenager charged with mischief after a video of him jumping from a bridge onto a moving train was posted to YouTube.
 
When contacted by the Eagle, the Cochrane teenager said he was unable to make his initial court date because he was working on the set of a corporate safety training video in Edmonton. Ball hopes to make a living in the entertainment industry and plans to attend the motion picture arts program at Red Deer College in the fall.
 
Ball's charge stems from a 17 May 2010 incident, where the 19-year-old allegedly leapt from the Highway 22 overpass onto a moving Canadian Pacific Railway train. The train was immediately halted as Cochrane RCMP apprehended Ball and fined him $300 for petty trespassing.
 
On 11 Jun 2010, members of the Canadian Pacific (CP) Police Service executed a search warrant on Ball's residence, seizing multiple electronic devices and summoning Ball to appear in court on a mischief charge.
 
At the time, CP spokesperson Mike LoVecchio said an investigation of the 17 May 2010 incident uncovered the YouTube video and led to the subsequent charge.
 
Local lawyer Willie de Wit said social media's presence in the courtroom is a growing trend.
 
De Wit, who practices law in Calgary and resides in Bearspaw, is not affiliated with the Ball case but said videos, photographs, and other forms of incriminating media made public can hold significant sway with a judge.
 
"As long as you can substantiate it, it's pretty compelling evidence. A picture says a thousand words," de Wit said. "I have had cases where people would normally be a witness but they have a video of the incident and that makes them a much stronger witness."
 
De Wit said he has yet to encounter a case like Ball's, where the charge largely stems from a posted video, but noted that people are becoming complacent with how much information they share in online forums.
 
"I think it's a different generation now as far as privacy," de Wit said. "I think the older generations were much more interested in their privacy."
 
Ball isn't the first individual to be charged after posting his antics to YouTube. Last year in Saskatchewan, three men were fined $5,000 after a video of them illegally shooting ducks was posted to the video-sharing website.
 
The Cochrane teenager is scheduled to next appear in court 22 Jul 2010.
 
Jeremy Nolais.
 
Editor's Note:  Stay tuned.