Judge calls hiring private investigator ‘nothing short of an affront on the administration of justice’
Two Alberta lawyers charged with attempting to obstruct justice have been banned from practising law anywhere in Canada for three years as part of a plea deal with Manitoba prosecutors that saw their charges stayed.
Randal Jay Cameron and John Carpay were also charged with intimidation of a justice system participant after they hired a private investigator to follow the Manitoba judge who presided over their case challenging COVID-19 restrictions in 2021.
Court of King’s Bench Justice Shane Perlmutter accepted the application for a common-law peace bond in the case during a court appearance on Friday, when he said the accused demonstrated “unprofessional, unethical and dishonourable” conduct in hiring the investigator.
“What these lawyers did is nothing short of an affront on the administration of justice,” Perlmutter said, adding they “abused” the professional privilege granted to them while participating in a “historically important” constitutional case in Manitoba.
Defence lawyers Saul Simmonds and Alex Steigerwald said their clients, who appeared in court virtually on Friday, didn’t intend to obstruct justice or intimidate when they hired a private investigator to follow Glenn Joyal, chief justice of the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench.
“These are two lawyers who were fighting for individual rights, the rights they believed in in the circumstances,” Steigerwald said in an interview following the court appearance.
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/carpay-cameron-lawyers-glenn-joyal-1.7010392
