November subscription drive When I learned about the Glen Assoun case in 2014, I sat down and read the 1999 court transcript, something like 10,000 pages. I soon realized that if I was going to properly report on the story, I needed to see that evidence that was presented at trial — there are all […]
The Halifax police department is going to great lengths to prevent you from knowing how Glen Assoun was wrongfully convicted
With very limited exceptions (national security, for instance), we do not have secret court evidence in Canada. We have the exact opposite: an Open Court Principle. I wrote about the Open Court Principle after the Halifax Examiner, the CBC, and the Canadian Press prevailed in our effort to get court documents unsealed in the Glen […]
Here’s how much we paid in legal fees to get court documents in Glen Assoun’s wrongful conviction case unsealed
Morning File, Wednesday, July 31, 2019
News 1. Chickens and other fowl “Hesitant to settle for chickens, Halifax councillors decided to include all egg-laying fowl in the rules on backyard birds in residential areas,” reports Zane Woodford for Star Halifax: Council voted on Tuesday to tell planning staff to start drafting bylaw amendments, with only Councillor Russell Walker voting no, citing […]
The Randy Riley trial: how news media are falling down on the job
Dropping coverage of a court trial mid-trial is a disservice both for readers and for justice.
Last Tuesday, there was dramatic moment in Supreme Court, worthy of its own Law & Order episode. In the course of its prosecution of Randy Riley for the 2010 murder of Chad Smith, the crown called its witness Nathan Johnson. Johnson took the stand and — bam! — said that he, and he alone, killed […]
Halifax Harbour is shrinking: Morning File, Monday, April 10, 2017
News 1. Dubé and lying city councillors In early March, I was tipped that Halifax CAO Jacques Dubé had been missing from City Hall for two weeks. I called around, and spoke to three councillors, two of whom told me that Dubé had a family member who had a severe illness and was attending to it. […]