The Rob Ford crack video: the truth

Quote:

“A Crown attorney on the Project Traveller case, Paul Renwick, would not answer questions.

Daniel Brown, Siad’s lawyer, said in an email that ethical and professional obligations prevent him from speaking about anything he may have learned during his time as counsel. “Likewise, my conversations with prosecutors about any of my clients would be protected by the same solicitor-client privilege.”

“Unlike myself, the Toronto Police are not bound by privilege and would be in the best position to answer questions about what evidence is in their possession,” Brown said.

Brown also noted that while he is still the counsel of record for Siad, he is planning to make an application to remove himself from the case, for unspecified reasons.”

There is a thing called Crown Disclosure. The Crown Disclosure rule is that Crown must disclose all material information that is in its possession or control, even if the evidence isn’t going to be called at trial or is inculpatory or exculpatory.

Here’s what I know:

• Siad possessed the video.
• The police got the video when they arrested him, using a search warrant.
• The Crown office was then given the video.
• The Crown disclosed the video to lawyer Brown. He has it.

Will the video come out anytime soon? I don’t know.

But what I do know is this: the video is in the hands of many people, now. And it has been seen by many more. And it shows Rob Ford smoking what appears to be crack cocaine.

It is real.


By-election predictions

Here.

Given how wrong polls are nowadays, you’d be a fool to make definitive predictions anymore.  That’s why Eric Grenier, no fool, can now be seen applying qualifiers to every observation he makes.

That’s what I find most interesting about his analysis, too: not the predictions, per se.  The conditional nature of his predictions.


The secret apology

Someone has lost a legal case to me.  They have had to issue an apology.  They are trying to keep the fact of that secret.

It’s a rather existential bit of business, you might say.  Stay tuned.


Today’s shocking news developments

1. Political folks say swear words about reporters. 
2. Reporters say swear words about political folks. 
3. Opposition politicians, far from being “outraged,” will actually sit on stuff to try and score transparently-obvious political points. 
4. Speakers get appeals in legislatures, hallways, you name it.
5. Er, that’s it.