Greetings,

With this website and newsletter, I will provide brief summaries of each day’s events at my daughter Caylan Ford’s trial.  I am partisan, but the reporting on events is intended to be an accurate account of what transpired during each day, and I shall report the proceedings as I heard and understood them to the best of my limited and fading abilities.

Each day’s post will finish with a comment which may reflect my partisanship. You can read them all in the Blog section of this site. The most recent posts are visible at the bottom of this page, and to access all posts, simply click on “Blog” above.

If you are not familiar with the case or its history, or would like more information, see Reference Documents, [the tab in the top right corner of this page] for informative articles which provide relevant information about the case.  The titles describe the contents: Events Leading to Trial, The Legal Case, Of Certain Defendants, Key Exhibits, andCaylan’s Biography.

There is also a Glossary in Reference Documents which defines names or terms, many of which have broader than normal meanings, allowing me to limit the number of names I type.  I have also begun a page in which I will add Key Exhibits relevant to the day’s events that are referenced in my posts.

This newsletter is still a work-in-progress and it will evolve and hopefully improve as the trial progresses.

To watch a live stream of the trial, visit https://albertacourts.webex.com/meet/virtual.courtroom91
(YOU MUST TURN OFF YOUR MICROPHONE BEFORE LOGGING IN.)

Thank you,

Lyle Ford

Day-by-Day Summaries

Featured
Day 42

Toronto Star Testimony Continues

Direct Examination of Angela Mullins by Ms. Cooper

Ms. Mullins has worked as a journalist for 25 years in a variety of capacities. In 2019 she was a senior editor of national news for the Toronto Star.  All Star Metro outlets across the country reported to her.  Her evidence:

·      She and Alex Boyd communicated almost daily.

·      The description of Caylan as a racist white supremacist was agreed upon by Ms. Mullins and Ms. Boyd.

·      Ms. Mullins was led through each of the defamatory Toronto Star publications about Caylan.

·      She went to great lengths to explain why the description of Caylan as a racist white supremacist was, in her opinion, justified.

·      The description of Caylan as a racist white supremacist was justified because Caylan had used words used by white supremacists.

Read more →
Day 41

Toronto Star Testimony Continues

Direct Examination of Ms. Boyd by Ms. Cooper (Day 2)

  • Ms. Boyd read Caylan’s Apologia.

  • She did not assign anyone to write about it.

  • Reading Apologia did not change her view of Caylan’s Facebook comments.

Cross‑Examination of Ms. Boyd by Mr. Harrison

  • Ms. Boyd inferred from the PressProgress article that Caylan was promoting racist white supremacist talking points.

  • She understood that Caylan intended to be perceived and understood differently.

  • The Toronto Star did not publish anything positive about Caylan, even after:

    • the Danielle Smith interview;

    • the publication of Apologia; and

    • the Joel Crichton interview.

Read more →
Day 40

Toronto Star Witnesses Continue

Direct Examination of Trevor Howell by Ms. Cooper (Counsel for the Toronto Star)

Mr. Howell was an investigative reporter for StarMetro Calgary in 2019. His evidence:

  • He now works for the NDP.

  • He suffered a concussion in an accident in Mexico in March 2019.

  • He testified that his memory remains impaired as a result of the concussion.

  • In 2019 he reported to Ms. Boyd.

  • Emma McIntosh was also an investigative journalist in the Calgary newsroom at that time.

  • Mr. Howell was aware that that Mr. Leavitt had received information about Caylan from a source.

  • Mr. Leavitt lacked confidence in the source, who refused to go on the record.

  • Mr. Howell did not recall seeing the nine‑page email Mr. Leavitt had received from “Whistleblower.”

Read more →