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The Ottawa police have made immediate changes to the way security is handled at the Elgin Street courthouse after some reporters were prevented from covering a jury’s verdict in a high-profile murder trial Thursday evening.
Citizen reporter Meghan Hurley was sent to the courthouse Thursday to assist reporter Gary Dimmock after word came that the jury in the murder trial of wife killer Howard Richmond had returned with a verdict after nine days of deliberation. Dimmock was already inside the courtroom when the outside doors to the courthouse were locked for the evening at 5 p.m.
Arriving after 5 p.m., Hurley and the others were blocked from entering by a private security guard who refused to let them inside. Ottawa police is responsible of court security, but a private security firm provides after-hours security.
Hurley and the other reporters were eventually allowed to enter, but only after Hurley reached the Ottawa police superintendent in charge of court security on his cellphone. The superintendent spoke to the security guard and an Ottawa police constable who had, by this time, been called to the entrance, who then allowed the reporters inside. By then, the verdict — guilty of first degree murder — had been delivered.
On Friday, Sandra McLaren, the acting inspector overseeing court security, said police had taken steps to ensure a similar situation won’t happen again.
“In this particular case … courthouse security had some questions about whether they could allow access. It took some 20 minutes to answer that question, so that by that time the verdict had already been given,” McLaren said.
“We’ve made some changes, effective today (Friday) about how we are handling the front door of the Elgin courthouse in the future when we have court proceedings that go beyond the end of the regular operating hours. That will be ascertained very, very quickly and there (won’t be) any such delays in the future.”
Citizen Editor Andrew Potter said he was satisfied with the police response.
“The concept of an open court system is fundamental to our democracy,” Potter said. “I’m glad that police have taken steps to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again.”
Defence lawyer Mark Ertel called the delay “outrageous.” Ertel was an outspoken critic of the increased security measures at the courthouse.
“They can’t keep the public out of a courtroom for a jury verdict,” Ertel said. “In order for justice to be done, the public has to be able to see justice being done. Not just reporters, the public too.”
Security at the Ottawa courthouse was beefed up this year as part of a province-wide program. Access is limited to the front door and visitors must pass through metal detectors and are subject to questioning and searches by security staff. At the time, the steps were denounced as “draconian” by defence lawyers, who argued they violated privacy rights and were counter to the concept of a free and open court system.
bcrawford@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/getBAC
查看原文...
Citizen reporter Meghan Hurley was sent to the courthouse Thursday to assist reporter Gary Dimmock after word came that the jury in the murder trial of wife killer Howard Richmond had returned with a verdict after nine days of deliberation. Dimmock was already inside the courtroom when the outside doors to the courthouse were locked for the evening at 5 p.m.
Arriving after 5 p.m., Hurley and the others were blocked from entering by a private security guard who refused to let them inside. Ottawa police is responsible of court security, but a private security firm provides after-hours security.
Hurley and the other reporters were eventually allowed to enter, but only after Hurley reached the Ottawa police superintendent in charge of court security on his cellphone. The superintendent spoke to the security guard and an Ottawa police constable who had, by this time, been called to the entrance, who then allowed the reporters inside. By then, the verdict — guilty of first degree murder — had been delivered.
On Friday, Sandra McLaren, the acting inspector overseeing court security, said police had taken steps to ensure a similar situation won’t happen again.
“In this particular case … courthouse security had some questions about whether they could allow access. It took some 20 minutes to answer that question, so that by that time the verdict had already been given,” McLaren said.
“We’ve made some changes, effective today (Friday) about how we are handling the front door of the Elgin courthouse in the future when we have court proceedings that go beyond the end of the regular operating hours. That will be ascertained very, very quickly and there (won’t be) any such delays in the future.”
Citizen Editor Andrew Potter said he was satisfied with the police response.
“The concept of an open court system is fundamental to our democracy,” Potter said. “I’m glad that police have taken steps to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again.”
Defence lawyer Mark Ertel called the delay “outrageous.” Ertel was an outspoken critic of the increased security measures at the courthouse.
“They can’t keep the public out of a courtroom for a jury verdict,” Ertel said. “In order for justice to be done, the public has to be able to see justice being done. Not just reporters, the public too.”
Security at the Ottawa courthouse was beefed up this year as part of a province-wide program. Access is limited to the front door and visitors must pass through metal detectors and are subject to questioning and searches by security staff. At the time, the steps were denounced as “draconian” by defence lawyers, who argued they violated privacy rights and were counter to the concept of a free and open court system.
bcrawford@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/getBAC
查看原文...
