Famed for freeing wrongfully convicted, lawyer Wolch dies
Hersh Wolch, considered one of Canada’s most brilliant defence lawyers best known for representing wrongly accused clients like David Milgaard and Steven Truscott, died Monday.
The lawyer who set many legal precedents and even acted as a hostage negotiator, collapsed at his Calgary home Monday morning and was pronounced dead at Foothills Hospital, said colleague Greg Rodin. He was 77. “He was one of the top defence lawyers who ever practised law in this county and that’s a fact,” said Rodin. “He was a brilliant lawyer right to the end.”
Rodin worked with Wolch on the late defender’s most famous case, that of Milgaard, who was accused of murdering nursing aide Gail Miller in 1969.
After spending 23 years in prison, he was released after DNA evidence exonerated him, and Wolch represented him at the inquiry into his wrongful conviction.
“He doggedly pursued authorities literally for decades,” said Rodin, who worked on the case with his mentor, Wolch.
“Nobody gave us a chance of success, but we kept at it until we got justice and that was Hersh ... he’s been a shining example of how to be a success in respect to the bar and with clients.”
In a prepared statement, Milgaard said he was deeply saddened by Wolch’s passing, calling him a champion for the wrongly accused.
“Hersh was my friend and he was a good man — he freed me from prison and he worked hard to do so,” said Milgaard.
“He has done many things with his life to help others, especially the wrongfully convicted. He has always been a special person to me.”
Two decades ago, Wolch moved from his hometown of Winnipeg to Calgary, where’s he represented numerous, often high-profile clients.
His son Gavin has often practised criminal law alongside his father or on his own in the Calgary Courts Centre.
Wolch also represented Truscott, who was wrongly imprisoned for the 1959 rape and murder of classmate Lynne Harper in southern Ontario and whose conviction was overturned in 2007.
In 2010, former Calgary Flame Theoren Fleury hired the lawyer in his claim against former coach and convicted sex offender Graham James.
There was a reason Wolch was so keenly sought, said Rodin.
“He analyzed a situation very quickly and got to the nub of the matter,” he said.
At the time of his death, Wolch was working with Rodin on a compensation deal for Kyle Unger, who was wrongly convicted in the 1990 murder of Brigitte Grenier at a rock concert outside Winnipeg.
The death shouldn’t impact the case, which is well-advanced, said Rodin.
“Hopefully, we’ll bring that to a close, a political solution is possible,” he said.