Canadian Lawyer

Delisle seeking appeal of murder conviction of Montreal pending a decision on whether or not he can appeal a sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. In early July, Quebec Court of Appeal Justice Richard Wagner denied a request for the conditional release of Delisle, 77. On June 14, he was found guilty in the Nov. 12, 2009, shooting death of his ailing wife, Marie-Nicole Rainville, 71, by a jury following a sensational month-long trial intensely watched by the local legal community, the media, and the public. "The public, which has been well informed about the judi- J acques Delisle — believed to be the first Canadian judge convicted of first-degree murder — remains in jail at the Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines federal penitentiary northwest CENTRAL Delisle's acquittal or the ordering of a new trial on grounds that the jury's verdict was not reasonable because it did not give due consideration to ballistics evidence he contends does not com- pletely rule out suicide and therefore creates reasonable doubt. The defence lawyer also faults Quebec Superior Court Justice Claude C. Gagnon for insufficiently instructing the jury and lead prosecutor Steve Magnan for expressing personal opinions and employing speculation and appealing to jurors' emotions during his pleading at the murder trial while presenting what was largely circumstantial evidence. No fingerprints were identified on the gun, but the Crown cial system and the circumstances of this present case, risks losing confidence in the criminal and penal justice system if I grant the request of the appellant," Wagner wrote in a 13-page decision. Jacques Larochelle, the prominent Quebec City defence lawyer defending Delisle, did present some arguments during the bail proceeding that "could be the object of real debate" during any eventual appeal hearing, said Wagner. But the judge said the defence lawyer failed to demonstrate that the continued detention of the former judge was not in the pub- lic interest. "Here, the appellant has been found guilty by 12 people, impartial and independent, of having committed one of the crimes most sanctioned by the Criminal Code . . . a premeditated murder of evident violence against a vulnerable person," said Wagner, noting that the situation is very different from the presumption of innocence during the murder trial. In his petition for an appeal, Larochelle is seeking either had argued that gunpowder residue and a black burn on Rainville's left palm resulted from her defending herself as Delisle shot her with a loaded gun he kept in the couple's Quebec City condo. Prosecutors called upon ballistics experts who testified that the nature of the wound indicated it could not have been self-inflicted. The former judge was having an affair with Johanne Plamondon, 57, his longtime secretary when he served as judge, had plans to live with the woman, and wanted to avoid a costly divorce, prosecutors argued. Delisle did not testify in his own defence. An early bid for a trial before a judge failed though the court did allow a defence request that Delisle face a separate (and still unscheduled) trial for possession of an illegal firearm — the same weapon that killed Rainville — a fact kept from the jury. The charge carries a minimum three-year sentence — another reason cited by pros- ecutors as a reason Delisle should not be granted bail. Provincial make sure there is no semblance of conflict of interest in any court decision involving the former judge. Wagner was named to preside over the bail hearing because he was appointed to the Court of Appeal bench after Delisle retired in May 2009. Delisle was a civil and insurance law lawyer who served as judicial officials are exercising prudence to clients must call to book appointments." Bryan was not aware of the many number problems until 2011 when someone said they couldn't find her firm in the phone book. She is asking the court to award her more than $100,000 in damages. Bell Aliant declined to speak as the matter was before the court. — DM and Yellow Pages, there was effectively no public listing of my office telephone number," she noted. "I'm sure you can appreciate the importance of having a publicly listed phone number for any business, but especially a law office where judge of the Quebec Superior Court for nine years, and then 17 years as a judge of the Quebec Court of Appeal in Quebec City. His arrest came on June 15, 2010, seven months after he called 911 to say that his wife of almost 50 years had taken her own life. Rainville, found lying on a couch at their home with a bullet wound in the head and a .22-calibre pistol by her side, had suffered a stroke two years earlier that left her paralyzed on her right side and until two weeks before her death was in hospital recovering from a hip fracture. Until $200,000 bail for just under two years. the murder conviction, Delisle had been free on — KATHRYN LEGER kathryn.leger@videotron.ca www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com A U GUST 2012 7

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