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Canada Supreme Court to rule on media blackout in terrorism trial

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Canada's Supreme Court agreed Thursday to review an Ontario court decision upholding media restrictions on the Toronto 18 terrorism case. Under Canada's criminal code the media may attend pre-trial hearings but in some instances may not report on them to prevent biasing potential jurors. The plaintiffs, which include the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CTV, the Toronto Star, and the Associated Press, argue that the law violates Canada's Charter on Human Rights and Freedoms. The Ontario Court of Appeals ruled that while the statute is overbroad, it was properly applied in this case. The Court previously agreed to review a challenge to the same law after an Edmonton court released on bail a man accused of murdering his pregnant wife. The Court will hear both cases in November. The Toronto 18, a group of adults and minors arrested in a 2006 anti-terrorism raid, have provoked intense reactions from detractors and supporters alike. Mosques were vandalized and the debate about Canadian security intensified in the wake of the group's arrest. Others contest the lawfulness of the group's detention, and, despite the ban on press coverage, a 2008 documentary, Unfair Dealing, was highly sympathetic to the accused. Last week one man was sentenced to time served and probation and released. In September, a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice convicted one of the Toronto 18 terrorism suspects for participating in a group that allegedly plotted to behead Prime Minister Stephen Harper while attacking parliament. The conviction was the first under Section 83 of the Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act, passed in 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the US.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on May 29, 2009 (boomark / email).