Justice department backs down on request to keep evidence secret in N.B. murder trial

Aidan Cox · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 26, 2025 4:39 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

The national Department of Justice has backed down from a petition it made to support the grounds of a Crown witnesser concealed from the nationalist successful an upcoming assemblage proceedings for 2 radical accused of execution adjacent Fredericton 3 years ago.

A lawyer for Canada's lawyer wide had filed an exertion successful the Court of King's Bench earlier this period seeking to person the witnesser attest down closed doors during the assemblage proceedings of Joshua McIsaac and Erica Blyth, who are jointly charged with murdering Brandon Donelan in the archetypal degree.

The application, if granted, would efficaciously person allowed only the jury, the judge, lawyers and their clients to perceive the grounds of the Crown witnesser and would person kept that grounds sealed adjacent aft the proceedings concluded.

However, pursuing objections from defence lawyer Nathan Gorham, arsenic good arsenic reporters with CBC News and the Fredericton Independent, Patricia MacPhee, a lawyer for Justice Canada, reneged connected her archetypal request.

"There's present a tentative resolution," said MacPhee, in court, pursuing backstage discussions she had with Gorham and TJ Burke, who is representing Blyth.

That resolution, arsenic described by Gorham, would lone spell arsenic acold arsenic imposing a work prohibition connected immoderate accusation that would place the Crown witnesser and their family.

Trial scheduled for April 23

Wednesday's tribunal quality was portion of pre-trial proceedings up of its scheduled April 23 commencement date.

It comes much than 3 years aft Donelan's assemblage was recovered successful a wooded country betwixt Minto and Chipman connected March 31, 2022, after being reported missing 2 months earlier.

Due to a work prohibition connected immoderate grounds discussed anterior to the trial, CBC News cannot study wherefore the Department of Justice wanted to support the grounds of 1 of the Crown witnesses secret.

Defence's situation to application

In a little filed successful effect to Justice Canada's archetypal application, Gorham argued there was nary factual oregon ineligible ground to person "vast portions" of the proceedings held successful private and that it would undermine the fairness of his client's trial.

"This unsocial is simply a drastic, unprecedented request," Gorham wrote. "It is made adjacent much outlandish by the assertion that the grounds should beryllium sealed successful perpetuity."

Wednesday's proceedings were adjourned until April 9, erstwhile media outlets volition beryllium allowed to marque submissions related to the proposed publication ban.

Justice Richard Petrie volition person the last accidental connected whether to assistance it.