VANCOUVER -- Lawyers for several B.C. media organizations argued the record access policy in B.C. courts is unconstitutional, as part of a broad challenge to get at evidence to understand the scope of police misconduct during an investigation of a now-convicted pimp.
With one former Vancouver police officer having admitted breach of trust and sexual exploitation of two women who were witnesses in the case against Reza Moazami, and three more current officers under investigation, disclosure in the case is of vital public interest, media lawyers argued.
“When you have a pipeline of public access and put obstructions in it, that’s an erosion of the open court principle that is a hallmark of a democratic society and the cornerstone of the common law,” said Scott Dawson, a lawyer who represents Postmedia and CBC.
B.C.’s media access policy creates bigger hurdles than any other court in the country, while courts in most other jurisdictions simply allow access to records upon request, said Dan Burnett, who represents intervenors in the case, including CTV News, Global News, the Globe and Mail, and the Canadian Media Lawyers’ Association.
“The B.C. access policy includes some restrictions and steps that just don’t exist elsewhere,” he told a panel of three judges.
But Crown lawyer Lesley Ruzicka said the restrictions are in place for a good reason — to shield the information of vulnerable witnesses, the rights of the accused, and other witnesses.
“This policy ensures that those legally protected individuals are protected,” Ruzicka told the court.
The court policy is at issue because the media organizations say that rather than provide a process for accessing court records, it’s serving as an unconstitutional barrier.
That’s important in the Moazami case, because the convicted pimp has made several allegations of officer misconduct that go beyond what has been admitted to by the Vancouver Police Department and a now-disgraced former detective, Jim Fisher.
The allegations in the suit or in the various court appearances include that Fisher gave witnesses money for drugs in return for sexual favours, and that other members of the VPD’s Counter Exploitation Unit helped Fisher obstruct the investigation into his misconduct.
Fisher hasn’t filed a defence in the lawsuit, but other defendants, including the City of Vancouver, deny or say they have no knowledge of those claims.
Vancouver police have acknowledged that three officers are under investigation by Mounties in Alberta, and that they are no longer working in an exploitation unit, though they are still working police officers.
Moazami has claimed that many of his allegations stem from information he obtained during disclosure by the Crown in his criminal trial.
He has filed that disclosure in the B.C. Court of Appeal. The CBC, Postmedia, and CTV News are among the media organizations that have applied for access to the disclosure itself.
Dawson said the court then prompted the parties in the case to apply to limit the disclosure — something they hadn’t done at that point. Dawson said it made more sense for parties to apply to limit disclosure themselves.
He said after that “nudging” by the court, Crown lawyers opposed the application, and 130 days passed without disclosure before he filed a notice of constitutional question.
“The policy doesn’t facilitate an open court but in fact erects barriers to court openness,” Dawson said. “The appropriate remedy is to strike down those barriers.”
