Secret trial details leak into the news
It may be a Montreal story… or it may not. La Presse has a remarkable tale Friday about a trial held in absolute secrecy. The person involved is said to have been a police informant, so that the usual public revelation of their identity and the details of the case could endanger them.
The news only came out because the person was convicted, appealed the conviction, and the appeals court only then found out that such a trial had taken place. Yves Boisvert comments on the sheer departure from judicial norms involved. And Simon Jolin‑Barrette wants to know more.
Update: CBC says some members of the legal community feel this trial violated fundamental principles of justice.
On thinking about it: wouldn’t the defendant (or their lawyers) have understood that the secrecy, carried out presumably for their benefit, would be broken if the verdict was appealed? They went to a lot of trouble to keep this thing on the down low, only to risk having it become known, as it has been, when taken to appeal.
dhomas 08:23 on 2022-03-27 Permalink
I suppose it comes down to risk/reward. The defendant may think it’s worth the risk for potentially being free. Also, if they go to prison, the other prisoners will then know who they are, which might put their life in even greater danger.