"He said there was a concern that at least one member of the international media — from South Africa, where Levin previously practised — is expected to attend and will not abide by a publication ban and will file reports to his outlet.
“There is no control of foreign press in foreign jurisdiction,” Hepner said outside court Monday. “Once something is out on the Internet, it is out there forever.........
The application comes four months after a similar argument was successful in the case of a man charged with the alleged torture of his roommate.
Provincial court Judge Brian Stevenson banned the public from sitting in on the preliminary hearing in Calgary for Dustin Ward Paxton, after his lawyer Jim Lutz argued there were already substantial postings on social media networks on the Internet discussing the case.
Lutz said he was concerned that his client, who will have his case heard by judge and jury, would not have a fair trial if members of the public are not controlled in their postings of prohibited testimony.
The ban does not apply to media who are accredited with the court. Hepner will make his restricted access application to Assistant Chief Judge Bob Wilkins on Wednesday in court, thus abiding by a three-day notice to media to argue against such a restriction on who can enter the courtroom."
REPORTER DARYL SLADE; THE CALGARY HERALD;
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BACKGROUND: Dr. Aubrey Levin, 71, was first arrested and charged March 23 after allegations that a 36-year-old patient was repeatedly sexually assaulted. Calgary Police said that following that charge, “the sex crimes unit was approached by numerous people alleging they, too, were Sexually assaulted by Levin during counselling sessions or court-ordered visits. These assaults allegedly occurred at Levin's Peter Lougheed (hospital) office or examination rooms. Dr. Levin has now been charged with 20 additional counts of sexual assault involving 20 other patients. Alberta Justice has been reviewing all criminal cases in which Dr. Levin offered testimony to ensure there were no miscarriages of justice. Spokesman David Dear said the work in 17 cases in which Dr. Levin was currently involved has been redone by other psychiatrists. The department is currently reviewing 21 other cases which had been finished. Mr. Dear said that Dr. Levin most commonly gave expert testimony to help the court make decisions on sentencing for people who had already been convicted.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"CALGARY — The lawyer for a prominent Calgary forensic psychiatrist facing 21 sexual assault charges against former patients will apply to have the courtroom closed to the public for a month-long preliminary hearing starting June 6," the Calgary Herald story by reporter Daryl Slade published earlier today under the heading, "Lawyer for psychiatrist wants trial closed to public," begins.
"Alain Hepner filed notice on Monday with Alberta Justice to be able to restrict access to all members of the public, except accredited local media, for Dr. Aubrey Levin’s hearing in provincial court," the story continues.
"He said there was a concern that at least one member of the international media — from South Africa, where Levin previously practised — is expected to attend and will not abide by a publication ban and will file reports to his outlet.
“There is no control of foreign press in foreign jurisdiction,” Hepner said outside court Monday. “Once something is out on the Internet, it is out there forever.
“I’ll be getting direction from the preliminary inquiry judge. That’s why I filed the application.”
The application comes four months after a similar argument was successful in the case of a man charged with the alleged torture of his roommate.
Provincial court Judge Brian Stevenson banned the public from sitting in on the preliminary hearing in Calgary for Dustin Ward Paxton, after his lawyer Jim Lutz argued there were already substantial postings on social media networks on the Internet discussing the case.
Lutz said he was concerned that his client, who will have his case heard by judge and jury, would not have a fair trial if members of the public are not controlled in their postings of prohibited testimony.
The ban does not apply to media who are accredited with the court. Hepner will make his restricted access application to Assistant Chief Judge Bob Wilkins on Wednesday in court, thus abiding by a three-day notice to media to argue against such a restriction on who can enter the courtroom.
He said he will request the statutory publication ban before Wilkins to prevent publication of evidence at the start of the hearing next Monday.
Levin was often asked over the past 10 to 15 years to assess the mental fitness of an accused facing trial or sentencing.
Those meetings would have taken place at Peter Lougheed Hospital, the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatric Centre, at court, at the Calgary Remand Centre or at a prison.
Levin was charged with sexual assault on March 23, 2010, in relation to the initial complaint by a former male patient.
By July, Calgary police had laid 20 additional counts of sexual assault after other men came forward with similar allegations.
Levin, who was first licensed by the Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons 15 years ago, has been suspended and has not practised since the first charge was laid.
Alberta Justice contacted former patients examined under court order by Levin following the initial charge, leading to many of the subsequent charges.
The first letters were sent in November to defence lawyers asking for help identifying possible victims. Later, the province sent notification to former patients.
Only patients who were court-ordered to see Levin were contacted, an Alberta Justice spokesperson said at the time. The province did not pursue the doctor’s private patients."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The story can be found at:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Lawyer+psychiatrist+wants+trial+closed+public/4864847/story.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
