The Legislature Raids

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COMMENTARY ON THE BENNETT LETTER TO ROBIN MATHEWS
By G. West
September 19, 2007

Although not much of anything happened in court this week, something positive actually did transpire ‘outside’ the halls of justice.

The single most glaring omission in this case, from the very beginning, has been the public interest. Although the trial judge has, from time to time, appeared almost ready, if not anxious, to present an active and comprehensive appeal to the single most egregious offender against the principle of timely and open proceedings, she has always managed to catch herself in the act. Whether this reluctance to push the special prosecutor to actually facilitate the undertakings he and his staff have repeatedly made, (and then promptly forgotten), is accidental or purposeful is impossible to say.

Not only was Mr Berardino missing in action for months this year; the interested observer can hardly be blamed for wondering exactly what motivates a man who accepts such an important assignment and then proceeds to behave as if he couldn’t care less how long it takes to actually bring these accused to trial. Why disclosure in this case was not completed before the end of 2006 is a good question.

A better one is why, since the hearings and further promises of early this year, no more progress has actually been made.

The reluctance of the working press to do much more than ‘actively ignore’ this case and its implications has put interested and concerned members of the public in a bind. Such observers would like to know:
a) How the case is proceeding and why it is not moving any faster; and
b) In the absence of comprehensive investigative reports (and not idle speculation), exactly what (admittedly little) has actually been disclosed and discussed at the intermittent court appearances before the judge.

Their curiosity is also piqued by the knowledge (during the period that the case was being heard while the Legislature was in session) that the Campbell Government hired their own reporter to make twice daily reports to the Government and/or the BCLiberal Party about events transpiring before the judge.

During the past year and a half, other individuals have also done their best to try and prize away from the court and its officers some of the public information and documentary evidence presented in this trial. The public interest in knowing about the disposal of important public assets and the role which may have been played by elected members of the government – perhaps legally, perhaps not, is paramount.

And yet, contrary to the very grounding principles of justice and democracy, the court has not – until just recently – even deigned to acknowledge that this is a legitimate and necessary function of the system. It should not be exceptional that a member of the public should have as much and as free access to the documents and the proceedings of this case before the bar as a member of either the defence or prosecution team, or, for that matter, a member of the working press.

As regular readers of 'The Legislature Raids’ will know, much of the time the public will have been able to access and read court documents, press clippings and analysis - among other things - here at BC Mary’s blog is because of the dedication and hard work of a retired Simon Fraser University professor.

Now, after a series of polite but firm letters – most of which have been published here from time to time – Robin Mathews has finally received the first direct acknowledgment from the Court that he, and through him, we (the public) do have a fundamental and democratic right to view, listen to and access, the PUBLIC RECORD of this trial and the steps leading up to it.

Is this the last hurdle in getting information to the public about how, or how badly, the government has been discharging its fiduciary duty to the citizens? Of course not, but it is a beginning. And the credit must go to the man who has, more or less on his own, and dressed impeccably too I might add, taken this issue forward to the point where an officer of the court wrote the following words to him:

With respect to your request for access to the court record, Madam Justice Bennett advises that you may attend at Court Registry in Vancouver to listen to the audio recording of the pre-trial conference which took place on August 21, 2007. As it was a pre-trial conference, no documents were filed. If you wish, you may also obtain a transcript of the August 21 pre-trial conference; however, you will be responsible for any fees charged in relation to the preparation of a transcript. Finally, if clerk's notes from the August 21, 2007 pre-trial conference were prepared, you may look at them.

A definite round of applause is in order. Whether this is the last battle in a long war, or merely a first victory on the way to a greater one remains to be seen, of course. It definitely feels like progress to me.

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