B.C. judge delays decision on polygamy charges
Last Updated: Thursday, July 9, 2009 | 5:48 PM PT
The Canadian Press
The case against two men accused of polygamy has been put on hold until September when a B.C. Supreme Court judge will consider a defence argument to toss out the charges.
Winston Blackmore and James Oler, leaders of separate factions in the controversial B.C. community of Bountiful, were arrested earlier this year and charged with one count each of polygamy.
Blackmore, who has admitted marrying multiple women, is accused of having 19 wives, and Oler three.
Blackmore and Oler claimed abuse of process, alleging the province's attorney general went "special prosecutor shopping" until he found a decision he agreed with.
If the case isn't thrown out, they want the province to pay their legal bills.
Blackmore's lawyer Bruce Elwood confirms B.C. Supreme Court Justice Sunni Stromberg-Stein has sent a memo to counsel asking that the arguments be submitted in a different form.
Elwood said Stromberg-Stein's request is "very technical," asking that the arguments be re-filed as a judicial review under provincial law, rather than a notice of application under criminal law.
The case will then return to court in the first week of September, said Elwood.
Judge questioned court's jurisdiction
Stromberg-Stein had questioned whether the Supreme Court has jurisdiction to throw out the charges when the case against Blackmore and Oler is still being dealt with in provincial court.
Currently, the case is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in provincial court next April, with a potential trial in September 2010.
An affidavit filed in court by one of the RCMP officers involved in investigating the community includes a list of Blackmore's alleged wives and children.
The officer claims Blackmore has married 25 women since 1976, several as young as 15 years old, with whom the Mounties say he has fathered more than 100 children.
The RCMP officer suggested Blackmore helped compile the list.
The documents also say Oler admitted having three wives, and provided their names to the RCMP.
Sect under police microscope for years
The RCMP have launched numerous investigations into Bountiful since 1990, and prosecutors have repeatedly shied away from laying charges, concerned the polygamy laws wouldn't survive a challenge under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The Mounties launched a renewed investigation in 2005 and two years later recommended charges against Blackmore and Oler.
Several legal experts consulted by the province, including a special prosecutor appointed two years ago, suggested a reference case to determine the constitutionality of the law would be the best way to proceed.
But then-attorney general Wally Oppal appointed another special prosecutor, Terry Robertson, last year, and Robertson ultimately recommended charges.
