Article Added On: September 24, 2009 - 10 months ago
Title: B.C. Supreme Court throws out charges against Bountiful polygamists
Original URL: http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/Supreme+Court+throws+charges+against+Bountiful+polygamists/2028003/story.html
Author: KEITH FRASER
Publication: Calgary Herald
Publication Date: September 24, 2009 - 10 months ago
Faith Groups: Evangelical Christian, Other Christian
Themes: Religion and society, religion and violence, religious tolerance/intolerance

VANCOUVER — A judge has quashed criminal charges against alleged polygamists Winston Blackmore and Jim Oler.

In a 25-page decision released Wednesday, B.C. Supreme Court Madam Justice Sunni Stromberg-Stein found that former attorney-general Wally Oppal had no jurisdiction to direct his officials to appoint special prosecutor Terry Robertson in the case.

The judge found that the appointment was unlawful and therefore should be quashed. She also quashed the decision of Robertson to approve charges against the two men.

Joe Arvay, a lawyer for Blackmore, said his client was “very pleased” by the ruling.

Robertson was appointed after two previous Oppal appointees — high-profile Vancouver criminal defence lawyers Richard Peck and Len Doust — found that it would be unfair to proceed and decided not to lay charges against the two religious leaders from the community of Bountiful.

Justice Stromberg-Stein agreed with Blackmore’s position that the initial decision of special prosecutor Peck should have been final.

“The harm in the appointment of successive special prosecutors is that it undermines the administration of justice by leaving the perception, if not the reality, of political interference and of an oppressive or unfair prosecution,” she said. “The Attorney General upset the critical balance that . . . should be kept between political independence and accountability.”

Arvay said the judge’s reasons were “very thorough” and the essential point was that the Crown Counsel Act says that a decision of the special prosecutor is final.

“Notwithstanding that special prosecutor Richard Peck decided not to prosecute Mr. Blackmore, the attorney-general then proceeded to shop around for a second and then a third opinion,” he said.

“And basically the Supreme Court said he couldn’t do that. The decision of Peck was final and that was the end of it. (Oppal) had to accept it and he couldn’t go special prosecutor shopping and that’s what he did.”

A critical issue in the case is whether or not Canada’s polygamy law breaches the Charter of Rights and Freedom gaurantee of freedom of religion. Peck and Doust said that the issue needs to be decided by the Supreme Court of Canada but that it shouldn’t be determined in a criminal prosecution.

Oppal, Robertson and Attorney-General Michael de Jong could not be reached.

Neil MacKenzie, a spokesman for the criminal justice branch of the attorney-general’s ministry said he was reviewing the decision and was not in a position to comment on where the government goes from here.

Blackmore, the former bishop of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, was charged with being in a polygamous relationship with 19 women. Oler was charged in connection with his marriages to three women.

Allegations of polygamy at Bountiful first surfaced in 1990. After an RCMP investigation, Crown counsel decided not to lay charges after finding that there was not a substantial likelihood of conviction. The next RCMP investigation ran from 2004 to 2008. RCMP recommended charges but four senior Crown counsel decided not to lay charges. Peck was then appointed to review the file.