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State funded lawyer rejected for former Dawson mayor

An application for state-funded legal counsel has been rejected for the case of Glen Norman Everitt, the former Dawson City mayor accused of theft,…

An application for state-funded legal counsel has been rejected for the case of Glen Norman Everitt, the former Dawson City mayor accused of theft, fraud and breach of trust while in office.

Everitt is charged with two counts of breach of trust by a public officer, two counts of fraud and two counts of theft over $5,000. All the charges related to his eight-year term as mayor between 1996 and 2004.

Everitt was applying for a Rowbotham order, a “rare and exceptional” order that stays legal proceedings until the “state can provide necessary funding to retain a lawyer.”

The order can be granted on one of four conditions, including proof that the accused is unable to afford “legal counsel” or that “charges are sufficiently complex that the accused does not have the capacity to represent himself.”

In a search to find legal counsel, one lawyer informed Everitt that he would require a $10,000 retainer merely to review the case against him. Another informed him simply that it was going to “cost a lot of money.”

In his decision, Justice Leigh Gower concluded that by rearranging his finances and borrowing money from family and friends, Everitt could cover court costs.

As well, given that he was mayor for eight years, the judge determined that Everitt was sufficiently capable of representing himself.