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Polygamy Charges Dismissed By British Columbia Supreme Court

By Howard M. Friedman

An expected constitutional challenge to polygamy laws in the Canadian province of British Columbia (see prior posting) has been short circuited as province's Supreme Court quashed the indictments against two FLDS leaders on other grounds. In Blackmore v. British Columbia (Attorney General), (BC Sup. Ct., Sept. 23, 2009), the Court held that British Columbia's attorney general lacked authority to order appointment of a second special prosecutor to bring polygamy charges against leaders of two separate factions of the FLDS Church after a first special prosecutor recommended against bringing charges. Section 7.5 of the Crown Counsel Act provides that "the decision of a special prosecutor with respect to any matter within his or her mandate is final." The Court held that the appointment here of successive prosecutors is exactly the kind of political interference with the charging process that the Crown Counsel Act is meant to prohibit. Canadian Press yesterday reported on the decision.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on September 24, 2009 (boomark / email).