Thursday, October 25, 2007

 

Pre-trial hearing today, 26 October, in B.C. Supreme Court, 9:00 AM.

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Anytime after 6:30 AM (PST) on the day of the action, confirmation of time, place, and Case Number will be listed online. Click on the B.C. Court links in the left column.

CONFIRMED: TODAY, OCTOBER 26, 9:00 A.M.

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First news: "DL" tells me that Bill Tieleman is in the courtroom.

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Eyewitness report from PG:

Mary,

The hearing this morning would upset you. The Crown continues to delay disclosure and Mr. Berardino was at a loss for words to explain his ineptitude.

More dates in November, and the Defence will proceed with the Government Records application that the Campbell government is opposing.

The Defence spoke about the abuse of process application that will be brought due to the manner of disclosure and the way the RCMP conducted this investigation.

PG

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And one more from PG:

Mary,

My information is confirmed in this report.


CP Newswire

Defence plans abuse of process motion in case connected to legislature raid

VANCOUVER - Defence lawyers in the case involving the police raid on the B.C. legislature plan to file an abuse of process motion which could stop the trial before it's set to begin next March.

Michael Bolton, the lawyer for former government aide Dave Basi, says the motion will concern the way the case was investigated by police and the lack of disclosure of evidence by the prosecution.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Bennett already ruled there was a substantial failure by police and the Crown in disclosing its evidence against the two former government aides.

Kevin McCullough, who represents former aide Bobby Virk, told the judge Friday that just last week the special prosecutor handed over 25,000 more pages evidence. He stated emphatically that none of the document delays are the fault of the defence.

It's been almost four years since police seized documents from offices in the B.C. legislature in connection to the sale of Crown-owned BC Rail.

PG

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The Canadian Press Go to Google News
Defence plans abuse of process motion in case connected to legislature raid

2 hours ago

VANCOUVER - Defence lawyers in the case involving the police raid on the B.C. legislature plan to file an abuse of process motion that could stop the trial before it's set to begin next March.

Michael Bolton, the lawyer for former government aide Dave Basi, said outside court Friday the motion will concern the way the case was investigated by police and the lack of disclosure of evidence by the prosecution.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Bennett already ruled there was a substantial failure by police and the Crown in disclosing evidence against the two former government aides.

Kevin McCullough, who represents former ministerial aide Bobby Virk, told the judge that just last week the special prosecutor handed over 25,000 more pages of evidence.

"There are (documents) that may have an impact on certain cabinet ministers and we may have to pursue those documents," McCullough told the court while trying to make arrangements for further evidence-disclosure hearings. {Snip} ...

McCullough told the judge none of the delays are the fault of defence lawyers.

"One hundred per cent of that falls at the feet of the special prosecutor," he said.

Special prosecutor Bill Berardino jumped to his feet to say he was willing to give a step-by-step accounting of the evidence disclosure process if the court was concerned about a delay of evidence.

Bennett interrupted, telling the lawyers she would hear those complaints during the abuse-of-process argument.

"Yes, it's taken long," she said. "I don't think anyone realized how many documents were out there."

Bennett has often expressed her own frustration at the delays, saying the public has waited too long for the trial to start.

She made it clear to the 11 lawyers in the courtroom that a December pre-trial hearing on discussion of evidence will be going ahead.

"If I have to sit here in an empty courtroom by myself, the matters are going to be heard," Bennett stated.

Defence lawyers have been methodically going through an evidence room in the case involving the charges against Basi and Virk, and also the drug allegations that set police on the path of the fraud and breach-of-trust charges.

"This is a puzzle," McCullough told the judge. "I need to be able to explain that puzzle to you, my lady."

Lawyers have set aside more hearing time next month to track the progress of evidence disclosure.

They'll also be in court for three weeks in December to review evidence that could be used in the trial next March.

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Comments:
While I was searching around for more information on the sale/giveaway of BC Rail I decided to go over to Meaghan Champions site, Somena Media. She has posted the debate with Campbell from Hansard. For anyone not familiar with the sale or anyone who has forgotten some of the facts, this is a very good read. Joy McPhail at her best.
 
Mary,

The hearing this morning would upset you. The Crown continues to delay disclosure and Mr. Berardino was at a loss for words to explain his ineptitude.

More dates in November, and the Defence will proceed with the Government Records application that the Campbell government is opposing.

The Defence spoke about the abuse of process application that will be brought due to the manner of disclosure and the way the RCMP conducted this investigation.

PG
 
Mary,

My information is confirmed in this report.

CP Newswire
Defence plans abuse of process motion in case connected to legislature raid

VANCOUVER - Defence lawyers in the case involving the police raid on the B.C. legislature plan to file an abuse of process motion which could stop the trial before it's set to begin next March.

Michael Bolton, the lawyer for former government aide Dave Basi, says the motion will concern the way the case was investigated by police and the lack of disclosure of evidence by the prosecution.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Bennett already ruled there was a substantial failure by police and the Crown in disclosing its evidence against the two former government aides.

Kevin McCullough, who represents former aide Bobby Virk, told the judge Friday that just last week the special prosecutor handed over 25,000 more pages evidence.

He stated emphatically that none of the document delays are the fault of the defence.

It's been almost four years since police seized documents from offices in the B.C. legislature in connection to the sale of Crown-owned BC Rail.

PG
 
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