 It's a good bet lawyers will seek a change of venue for the trial of Col. Russell Williams, say defence lawyers in Ottawa and Belleville, Ont. (LUKE HENDRY/QMI Agency)
|
BELLEVILLE, Ont. - It's a good bet lawyers will seek a change of venue for the trial of Col. Russell Williams, say defence lawyers in Ottawa and Belleville, Ont.
Belleville criminal defence lawyer Ed Kafka said while he believes a “decent jury” could be found for the Williams case in the communities the former military leader called home, a change of venue would likely improve the chances of finding one.
“I think there would probably be a change of venue application to another jurisdiction simply because of the media attention and the local interest,” Kafka said.
Media coverage was intense in the days that followed the arrest of the former commander of CFB Trenton for the murders of Jessica Lloyd and Marie-France Comeau.
That's had several legal experts questioning how such cases are handed in the media.
An article published this week in the legal periodical Law Times suggests details released through media coverage could have blown Williams' chance at a fair trial anywhere.
The article's author, Mark Ertel, argued that widespread reports indicating Williams gave a lengthy confession to investigating officers mean many people have already convicted the former military leader in their minds.
“If it was up to me, newspapers wouldn¹t be able to report this sort of stuff before people had their trials and then there’d be a real presumption of innocence,” Ertel said from his home in Ottawa. “As long as we believe that freedom of the press is a more important principle than the presumption of innocence, this is going to happen in sensational cases and that’s what’s happened here.” Reports by QMI Agency that Williams was, during college, an acquaintance of serial killer Paul Bernardo also impacts the court proceedings, Ertel said.
“So, now you’re not just defending a guy that everybody has convicted of doing the crimes, but you¹re also convicting him on his character,” Ertel said. “The media is not only reporting facts, there’s some heavy duty speculation going on.” Williams has hired high-profile Ottawa lawyer Michael Edelson. His past clients have included Ottawa mayor Larry O¹Brien, Margaret Trudeau and terrorism suspect Maher Arar.
Law experts believe Edelson will be looking for a trial without jury.
Williams is due back in court on March 25.
