In case you've not heard of him, G. Arthur Martin was one of Ontario's truly legendary defence counsel. His reputation still commands respect, years after he went to the grave.
Crown counsel Greg Tweney found that out when he tried to tell the Ontario Court of Appeal that Martin must have seen and rejected very the documents Truscott's lawyers today claim had not been disclosed to the defence at trial and the original appeals.
Mr. Justice Michael Moldover made short work of Tweney's argument. "Your point is, it was disclosed to Mr. Martin and he didn't have Mr. George on the witness stand? I don't think so," Justice Moldaver retorted. Ouch, that's gotta sting! That's really not a good thing to hear coming from a judge on an appeal.
The disputed evidence consisted of a statement given by Arnold "Butch" George to Ontario Provincial Police officers in which he reported seeing the two cycle across a particular bridge shortly before 12-year old Lynn Harper disappeared.
In a subsequent statement, George gave a much different account and he was reportedly a powerful witness for the prosecution at the trial in which Truscott was convicted.
The suspect statement undermines George's claim at the time that he changed his account after he learned that Harper had been murdered. The Crown is trying to uphold that claim but the Court of Appeal doesn't seem to be buying it.
Maybe Mr. Tweney ought to go to the library and read a bit about his province's legal history.
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