Today’s Victoria Times-Colonist has an editorial on what it calls the “colossal failure” of our legal system’s inability to get a high-profile fraud case to trial: “Legislature raids, five years later: A dismal failure.”

This is not the only high profile BC criminal fraud case that has been subject to inordinate investigative and procedural delay. Take the case of Martin Wirick and Tarsem Gill, who were charged more than six years after their alleged massive real estate fraud came to light. No word yet on when, or if, they will face trial:

2 charged in $30 fraud scheme – Vancouver Sun

Or how about the case of Ian Thow, who was charged a few months ago, three years after he skipped the country, leaving investors howling that he had bilked them out of millions:

Crown charges Thow with 25 counts of fraud – Victoria Times-Colonist

The British Columbia criminal justice system seems to have a lot of trouble completing investigations and getting these types of cases to trial. Perhaps Conrad Black might offer us some advice on how to make our system more efficient. He has plenty of time on his hands these days…those who have followed his exploits will recall that he resigned his chairmanship of Hollinger Inc. in January of 2004 (the month after the BC Legislature raid) and was subsequently investigated, charged, convicted and sentenced to 6 1/2 years in jail. He may have served his time before the Basi/Virk trial even begins…

Daniel Antony King’s death at the end of a police pursuit on October 13, 2006 was a homicide, a coroner’s inquest jury has ruled. The anonymous five person jury had heard seven days of evidence from some 25 witnesses before deliberating and releasing its verdict yesterday. They first returned a draft verdict that was kept secret by the coroner.

The jury heard that Danny King, 37, died from multiple gunshot wounds after being shot five times by a Burnaby RCMP member and a New Westminster police member at a Burnaby gas station. According to the evidence, Mr. King lay gasping for breath for several minutes before police officers radioed for an ambulance. No police officer of the dozen or so on the scene rendered first aid.

RCMP media relations personnel originally indicated that lethal force was used because Mr. King produced a hangun. Several days later, they advised the media that the handgun in question was actually an imitation. Evidence presented at the inquest indicated that the toy plastic “Made in China” pistol found at the scene was sent for forensic analysis to lRCMP labs in Vancouver and Edmonton. However, the RCMP produced no forensic reports indicating that Mr. King’s fingerprints or DNA were on the toy.

Testimony at the inquest also revealed that RCMP homicide investigators never interviewed either of the two police officers who fired the fatal shots.

The jury made five recommendations:

1) that video and audio equipment be installed in patrol cars;

2) that transponders be installed in patrol cars;

3) that police officers responding to calls make every effort to “radio in” their location;

4) that officers involved in a lethal force situation be held to a speciified time frame for providing a statement; and

5) that RCMP and municipal police forces create a program implementing “emergency response training”.

These recommendations, which have no binding effect, will be forwarded to the appropriate agencies.

Major media outlets are reporting that the Criminal Justice Branch is set to announce today that no criminal charges will be laid as the result of the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski on October 14, 2007. The decision, coming a mere 14 months after four police officers subdued the unarmed man at Vancouver Airport in an incident that was captured on film and broadcast around the world, comes as no surprise.

While the police treatment of Mr. Dziekanski certainly looked like a clear case of excessive use of force to many observers, the result of the investigation was ordained from the beginning.

In British Columbia, we still allow police officers to investigate themselves after they kill someone. The eminent former judge and legal scholar, the Hon. Roger Salhany, QC, recently described this approach as “a bad, if not intolerable, idea” (Report of the Taman Commission of Inquiry, Manitoba, 2008).

The police investigators generally spend a long time, not trying to make a case that will stick, but trying to create an airtight defence that will absolve police of responsibility for the death. Then, unlike conventional cases where the investigators recommend specific charges, they deliver a “neutral” report to Crown Counsel that contains no recommendations at all. Little wonder then that, as far as I can tell, no BC police officer has ever been prosecuted for a civilian death resulting from the intentional application of force in the 150 year history of this province.

In this case, the RCMP conducted a lengthy investigation into the incident that involved four of its members, even taking the time and trouble to fly to Poland to reportedly try to dig up dirt on the unfortunate victim. It will be interesting to see when and whether the investigators even interviewed the RCMP members involved, or whether they followed the usual practice of “debriefing” them and inviting them to contact legal counsel and submit a statement in writing at their leisure….

A public inquiry into the matter is set to resume in January.

The coroner’s inquest into the death of Daniel Antony King is scheduled for up to eight days commencing December 8, 2008. All hearings, which are open to the public, will be held at the Office of the Chief Coroner, 20th floor, Metrotower 2, in Burnaby, BC starting at 9:30 a.m..

Mr. King, 37, was shot and killed by RCMP and New Westminster police officers at a Burnaby gas station on October 13, 2006. After the shooting, the RCMP issued a series of media releases (Burnaby file no. 2006-54556).

The first media release, at 6:00 a.m. October 13, 2006, stated:

“At 12:23 a.m. this morning, there was a police involved shooting at the Mohawk Gas Station on Canada Way at Edmunds in Burnaby. One male suspect is deceased, no one else was physically injured in this incident. As a result of this being a police involved shooting the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) have been assigned to conduct an independent investigation. This is a multi-jurisdictional event including the New Westminster Police, Coquitlam RCMP and Burnaby RCMP.”

(Note: IHIT is a team of police officers that includes investigators from the New Westminster Police Service and the RCMP)

The first RCMP media update, issued at 10:59 a.m., said, “A press release is to be issued at 11:30 a.m. This is not a press conference…”

The press release issued at 11:38 a.m. described the shooting this way: “As officers approached, the suspect produced a handgun. In an attempt to subdue the driver, the police officers were required to engage in lethal force. The driver was shot several times. He was transported to Royal Columbian Hospital where he was pronounced dead.”

The next media update, at 4:56 p.m. on October 16, 2006, identified the deceased and included this remark: “Forensic Identification Specialists and investigators who examined the shooting scene have confirmed the handgun KING produced as the police officers approached the vehicle, was an imitation handgun.”

Twenty-five witnesses are scheduled to testify. According to the BC Coroners Service:

“Inquests are formal court proceedings, with a five-person jury, held to publicly review the circumstances of a death. The jury hears evidence from witnesses under subpoena in order to determine the facts of the death. The presiding coroner is responsible to ensure the jury maintains the goal of fact finding, not fault finding.”

BC Supreme Court Justice Gill has heard the Attorney General, Criminal Justice Branch’s motion to dismiss a Petition filed by the family of homicide victim Tammy Lynn Murray and is expected to render her decision on Monday, November 17, 2008.

Ms. Murray was brutally slain on September 19, 2007 by her domestic partner, Aaron Hickey, 19, who stabbed her dozens of times. Hickey was immediately charged with murder and made numerous court appearances over the next eight months. As Hickey’s preliminary hearing was about to commence, Ms. Murray’s family learned that Crown Counsel had concluded a plea agreement with Hickey’s defence counsel that would enable him to plead guilty to manslaughter instead of murder. The family had not been consulted about the possibility of a plea to the lesser offence and was outraged when they learned of it. They demanded an explanation and were told by Crown Counsel that Ms. Murray’s employment as an escort was a factor in the Crown’s decision to make the deal.

Michael McLeod filed a Petition in BC Supreme Court on October 7, 2008 and served Crown Counsel with the documents. On October 14, 2008, Hickey pleaded guilty to manslaughter and his sentencing hearing was put over to January, 2009.

An Amended Petition was filed on November 5, 2008: Petition To The Court

At today’s hearing, two lawyers representing the Ministry of Attorney General, Criminal Justice Branch applied to have the Amended Petition summarily dismissed on the basis that it discloses no reasonable claim, that it is unnecessary, scandalous, frivolous or vexatious and that it is an abuse of the process of the court.