Thursday, March 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Appeal Court gives reasons in Surrey Six ruling

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 25 Feb, 2021 07:36 PM
  • Appeal Court gives reasons in Surrey Six ruling

The British Columbia Court of Appeal has revealed its reasons for allowing two men found guilty of the first-degree murders of six people in an apartment building in Surrey, B.C., a new hearing to argue an abuse of process.

The ruling last month quashed the convictions of Cody Haevischer and Matthew Johnston in the so-called "Surrey Six" case but stopped short of ordering a new trial.

The Appeal Court released a brief statement announcing the decision in January, saying lawyers needed time to redact the reasons for judgment to protect confidential information, and the edited reasons were released today.

In its decision, the court says it is not ordering a new trial because a B.C. Supreme Court judge did not make a mistake in excluding Haevischer and Johnston from a pre-trial hearing that allowed a key witness to testify behind closed doors.

However, the court ruled the trial judge did make an error in dismissing an application from the two men for a hearing that would have allowed them to argue their rights were violated by police misconduct and by a lengthy period of solitary confinement before trial.

The Appeal Court affirmed the men's guilty verdicts in the notorious 2007 gang-related murders, but quashed their convictions, and sent the case back to B.C. Supreme Court for an evidentiary hearing on the abuse-of-process arguments.

MORE National ARTICLES

Gamblers breaking COVID rules face fines: RCMP

Gamblers breaking COVID rules face fines: RCMP
Police say in a statement that officers saw people without masks playing cards inside the business, which was closed to the public at that time.

Gamblers breaking COVID rules face fines: RCMP

Smoking materials link in Abbotsford, B.C., blaze

Smoking materials link in Abbotsford, B.C., blaze
No one was hurt in the Feb. 14 fire, but several cats are missing and all 57 units in the Delair Court complex are destroyed or severely damaged.

Smoking materials link in Abbotsford, B.C., blaze

Canada Post not subject to provincial inspections

Canada Post not subject to provincial inspections
The president of the national union representing postal workers said consistent standards should be applied to all workplaces, noting that the outbreak has had an "enormous impact on all postal workers."

Canada Post not subject to provincial inspections

Tighter border control measures come into effect

Tighter border control measures come into effect
At the Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, some travellers arriving on a flight from Brussels spoke of disconnected calls and hours or even days waiting on the line to make a reservation.

Tighter border control measures come into effect

Trudeau, Biden to hold virtual bilateral Tuesday

Trudeau, Biden to hold virtual bilateral Tuesday
Tuesday's virtual conversation between the two leaders will be Biden's first bilateral meeting as president.

Trudeau, Biden to hold virtual bilateral Tuesday

Canadian funding for homegrown vaccines lacking

Canadian funding for homegrown vaccines lacking
John Lewis, the CEO of Entos Pharmaceuticals in Alberta, says his company is one of six that received about $5 million to move their COVID-19 vaccine along.

Canadian funding for homegrown vaccines lacking