Judge questions publication ban on witnesses at double-murder trial
A judge questioned an unusual publication ban imposed on the identities of all witnesses testifying at a double-murder trial in Vancouver on Monday.
Crown counsel Daniel Porte told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Peter Voith that the ban in relation to the trial of Surjit Singh Dosanjh was initially imposed by the Richmond Provincial Court on April 20, 2015, a week after a deadly house fire claimed the lives of Dosanjh’s mother-in-law, Elaine Leznoff, and a teen who cannot be named because of a separate publication ban.
Under questioning from the judge, Porte said the ban — which also applies to the B.C. Supreme Court trial — affected all witnesses.
The Crown’s statements came in the middle of the testimony of a key Crown witness, who resumed giving her evidence Monday behind a screen in a smaller courtroom — measures that had been ordered by the judge Friday. The witness had earlier broken down in tears during a break in the proceedings.
It wasn’t clear who sought the blanket ban on witnesses at the Provincial Court level and what the grounds were for the ban.
After hearing from Porte, the judge questioned whether the ban should apply to all witnesses, including people such as police officers and firefighters, who are expected to be testifying at the six-week trial. He asked for the Crown to clarify the scope of the ban. Monday afternoon, Porte told the judge the ban was “perhaps overly broad.”
The judge said he would consider the matter and make a decision on whether to amend the ban on Tuesday. In the meantime, he said, the ban would remain in place.
Key parts of the testimony of the witness who resumed her evidence Monday could not be reported because of the ban.
Dosanjh has pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree murder. After the family home on Cornerbrook Crescent in Richmond was engulfed in flames, firefighters arrived at the scene and discovered the two victims. Attempts to resuscitate the victims failed. The trial is expected to continue Tuesday.