Monday, December 03, 2007

What Are We Gonna Do.........Now?

PublicationBans'RUs
TrialOfTheCenturyVille



"The voices in your head are calling....
Stop wasting your time, there's nothing coming.
Only a fool would think someone could save you"
'The Clampdown', Strummer/Jones




B.C.RailGateDate - Year Three, Month 11, Day 340

Still no start to this trial

And is it possible that there will soon be......

No Public....

No Press....

And maybe even No Defense?

VANCOUVER/Canadian Press, Dec03/07 - The judge hearing a B.C. political corruption case has approved a Crown application for an in-camera session as part of the pre-trial process before the case gets underway in earnest next year.

Justice Elizabeth Bennett of B.C. Supreme Court granted the request by special prosecutor Bill Berardino to close the hearing to the public and reporters while she hears the Crown's argument regarding a question of privilege.

The reason for the Crown's application and details about it cannot be reported under a publication ban issued by Bennett.

Bennett rejected arguments by lawyers for news organizations, including The Canadian Press, that the hearing should be open to the media.

After making her ruling, the judge heard a separate application to exclude defence lawyers from the in-camera hearing, with a ruling on that issue expected Tuesday, which may reopen the door to media access.......


Apparently, according to petitions from the special prosecutor Mr. Beradino, this all has something to do with secret documents and/or witnesses that don't want their identities revealed to anyone.

Regardless, given the stakes involved, and the myriad possibilities re: identities of the whistleblowers and/or snitches and/or informers, you'd think that this would drive the local media into a speculative frenzy worthy of a hundred, if not a thousand-million-billion inquiries into the presumed missing payments for a little bit of shady tree-lined back deck work.

Doncha' think?

______
Text of Neal Hall's VSun story is up at BC Mary's, where the Anon-O-Mice are starting to sing.





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