R. v. Dawson and Pacific Press

February 7, 2001

The B.C. Supreme Court has now released a decision arising from the Shannon Murrin murder trial which includes some important holdings about contempt. Specifically, it addresses whether sequestered juries can be prejudiced (no!), whether 648 bans cover parallel information obtained outside court (no!) and whether a judge can issue a ban extending a 648 ban until verdict (yes, in extraordinary circumstances) and whether an individual reporter without the authority to make a publication decision can be convicted of a "publication" offence including contempt (no!).

See: R. v. Dawson and Pacific Press