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REGIONAL WRAP-UP Brunswick; therefore, in a certain sense, it transcends Erin Walsh and marks the beginning of a systemic re-evaluation," says Sean MacDonald, a Toronto-based lawyer and one of four representing Walsh, who was found guilty of second- degree murder in 1975 and sentenced to life in prison. A review of the case by the federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson found Martins Related 08-09 3/12/08 2:06 PM Page 1 there was cause for concern. "The [is- sue] deals with non-disclosure, as a lot of these older cases do," notes Kerry Scullion, director and general counsel with the Justice Department's criminal- conviction review group. Specifically, Walsh has claimed that information about a conversation that could have helped his defence was not provided to his counsel in 1975, and that he was MARTIN'S Related Criminal Statutes 2008-2009 With annotations by Edward L. Greenspan, Q.C. and The Honourable Justice Marc Rosenberg, Court of Appeal for Ontario A comprehensive, selection of statutes and regulations carefully organized and expertly annotated to meet the needs of criminal practice (ss. 231 to 244 only) Offenders Act Important statutes cited herein: and regulations Release Act and regulations Officials Act regulation and (and an appendix of extraditable offences) (ss. 2 and 17 to 28 only) and regulations and regulations Registration Act (ss. 35 to 43 only) Plus more than 2,300 annotations of all relevant reported and unreported decisions delivered before January 15, 2008. convicted as a result. In fact, the jury deliberated for only one hour before handing down its verdict. There seems to be consensus that a miscarriage of justice did, in fact, oc- cur. First, there is the minister's refer- ral to the appeal court, an uncommon move. "When an applicant receives a ministerial remedy — then you can rest assured that there is most certainly pith and substance to the claim," says MacDonald. "Erin Walsh has landed on these shores, so, yes, his case is very rare and one that should be taken extremely seriously." Second, there is the fact that the New Brunswick government has said it will not block an order to quash the convic- tion and has no intention of retrying Walsh, who has been diagnosed with inoperable colon cancer. Indeed, says MacDonald, the provin- cial government should be recognized for its willingness to co-operate in the process. "These cases pose challenging questions for every system of justice in our country, and some deal with these challenges better than others. So far the attorney general of New Brunswick has given us great reason for optimism — for Erin and for the justice system of New Brunswick in its larger sense. It is my hope that this spirit continues." Certainly though, there can be little doubt that the government must be keeping its fingers crossed that the ap- peal court opts to stay the conviction, as opposed to giving Walsh an outright acquittal. This, at least, would be some small face-saving measure. "The ap- plicant will suggest an acquittal," says Scullion, which "is tantamount to rec- ognizing Mr. Walsh's innocence." While both sides wait to see what the www.canadalawbook.ca 14 APRIL 2008 www. C ANADIAN mag.com appeal court will decide, Walsh has been given the judicial go-ahead to proceed with his $50-million lawsuit against William McCarroll (the former Crown prosecutor in his case and now a pro- vincial court judge in Saint John), the province of New Brunswick, and all city police chiefs from 1975 to the present. — DONALEE MOULTON donalee@quantumcommunications.ca