STORY: "David Eastman certain to launch stay application to prevent re-trial," by reporter Christopher Knaus, published by the Canberra Times on December 2, 2014.
GIST: "David Eastman is almost certain to launch a stay application to permanently stymy attempts to put him on trial for a second time, lawyers say. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is expected to tell the ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday it will retry Eastman on accusations he murdered ACT police chief Colin Stanley Winchester in 1989. Such a trial would come almost 20 years after Eastman was first put before a jury for the infamous murder in 1995.........Lawyer Michael Kukulies-Smith, of Kamy Saeedi lawyers, said Eastman's legal team would be certainly considering a stay application.
He said the large volume of media reporting and the publicly-available report of Acting Justice Brian Martin's inquiry into Eastman's conviction were likely to feature in any such move. But Mr Kukulies-Smith, also chair of the Law Society's criminal committee, said accused often face a significant hurdle in permanently staving off a trial. "It's rare that courts stop the process preventing a final determination of guilt or innocence. It would only occur when there are special or exceptional circumstances," he said. "However, this case is exceptional in ACT legal history.".........Peter Woodhouse, of Ben Aulich and Associates, said he expected Eastman's defence to seek a stay immediately. He questioned the DPP's decision to push ahead with the retrial. "Mr Eastman has already served 19 years in gaol. That is more than what most get in the territory for murder." "What public benefit is there in retrying him?" Ben Aulich, principal of the same firm, said it would be very difficult for Eastman to now get a fair trial. "Given forensic evidence has been lost and destroyed, and some witnesses have even died, there is a strong likelihood that Mr Eastman's defence team will file an application for a permanent stay of proceedings," he said."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/eastman-certain-to-launch-stay-application-to-prevent-retrial-lawyers-20141201-11xh19.html
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
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/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com.
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;
