By Canadian Press

Supreme Court of Canada to rule Thursday on bail issue in Oland murder case

Mar 21, 2017 | 9:45 AM

FREDERICTON — The Supreme Court of Canada will rule this week whether New Brunswick’s Court of Appeal was wrong in denying bail to Dennis Oland while he was awaiting an appeal of his second-degree murder conviction.

“This is a big deal. It has been decades since the Supreme Court of Canada has taken on the issue of bail pending appeal,” said Nicole O’Byrne, a law professor at the University of New Brunswick.

“This case gives the court the opportunity to come in and clarify the law.”

Oland, 49, was denied bail by the New Brunswick Court of Appeal early last year following his conviction in the murder of his father, well-known businessman Richard Oland. The 69-year-old was bludgeoned to death in his Saint John office in 2011.

But Dennis Oland was subsequently granted bail by the same court last October, when his lawyers appealed his conviction and a new trial was ordered. He had spent 11 months in prison.

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A new trial is not expected until at least 2018.

Even though Dennis Oland had been released on bail, his lawyers proceeded with arguments before the Supreme Court in an effort to get clarity on the issue of bail pending appeal in murder cases.

They say it is rare in Canada — finding none in New Brunswick and only 34 cases in Canada.

Lawyer Alan Gold told the court that his client does not want to be “haunted” by the prospect of another unsuccessful bail hearing if his second murder trial takes an “unfortunate turn.”

A cross-section of interveners, including the Criminal Lawyers Association of Ontario and attorneys general from three provinces, all agreed the bail provisions need to be clarified by the top court because they are currently interpreted differently across the country.

“This will be a precedent-setting case,” said O’Byrne.

She said lawyers are now required to prove exceptional circumstance when seeking release pending appeal.

“If there is an exception for exceptional circumstances such that people could be granted bail pending appeal, is there a better case than Dennis Oland?” she asked. “He has no criminal record, he’s proven he can live under bail conditions because he did, and the fact that it has been set down for retrial proves that the appeal is not frivolous.

“This comes down to being a test case on how do you ever grant anybody bail pending appeal if Dennis Oland doesn’t fit that criteria?”

The decision is expected Thursday morning.

Kevin Bissett, The Canadian Press

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