B.C. series probes court file access
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The Victoria Times Colonist has published a four-day series exposing glaring inconsistencies in public access to court records at British Columbia courthouses. Some court officials cited a legally flawed, 16-year-old policy similar to one discredited and abandoned in Ontario last year that allows them to withhold files if there is a publication ban on a name or other information. Times Colonist reporters also had difficulty locating and obtaining records of completed police searches. Read the first days stories, with links to follow up articles and editorial comment.
Commentary: "Justice can't exist hidden behind secrecy"
The Victoria Times Colonist has published a four-day series exposing glaring inconsistencies in public access to court records at British Columbia courthouses. Some court officials cited a legally flawed, 16-year-old policy similar to one discredited and abandoned in Ontario last year that allows them to withhold files if there is a publication ban on a name or other information. Times Colonist reporters also had difficulty locating and obtaining records of completed police searches. Read the first days stories, with links to follow up articles and editorial comment.
Commentary: "Justice can't exist hidden behind secrecy"
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