Judge Denies Tamara Lich's Caribbean Cruise, Citing The Extremely Specific Nature Of House Arrest
A judge has denied Tamara Lich's request to leave house arrest for a Caribbean cruise and a visit to the White House, a ruling legal scholars are calling "the most literal interpretation of 'house arrest' ever attempted in a Canadian courtroom."
The request bundled two destinations that share almost nothing except a reliable supply of buffet shrimp. Court observers noted the ambition. Most people under house arrest ask to attend a funeral or a medical appointment. This one asked for a lido deck and a photo op, which at minimum demonstrates an understanding that if you are going to test the boundaries of a sentence, you should test them somewhere warm.
The legal argument, as reconstructed by people who were in the room, appeared to rest on the idea that the terms of confinement should bend for travel that is meaningful to the applicant. Under this standard, roughly ninety per cent of Canadians would be entitled to February in Cuba on the grounds of personal significance.
The judge was unmoved. The cruise line was, presumably, also unmoved, having already dealt with a convoy once in Ottawa and preferring its horns to be nautical.
What the ruling really establishes is that a Canadian court will not let you turn a sentence into an itinerary. The White House leg was the tell. You do not schedule a diplomatic stop on the back half of a cruise unless you believe the two are basically the same category of outing.
Her lawyers may appeal. The ship, meanwhile, sails on 14 January with one fewer passenger and one entirely available deck chair, which is the only part of this story with a happy ending.