FORMER JUSTICE NAMED TO ADVISE MINISTER ON STEVEN TRUSCOTT SECTION 690 CRIMINAL CODE APPLICATION

OTTAWA, January 24, 2002 - The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, the Honourable Martin Cauchon, today announced that the Honourable Fred Kaufman, has been appointed to examine the section 690 Criminal Code application of Steven Truscott and to provide advice to the Minister of Justice concerning the granting of a possible extraordinary remedy because of the circumstances of this case.

Section 690 of the Criminal Code allows persons who believe they have been wrongly convicted of an indictable offence, to apply to the Minister of Justice for a review of their case. The Minister of Justice may return appropriate cases to the judicial system, by ordering a new trial or appellate hearing. In such cases, the applicant must present new and significant information that either was not considered by the courts or arose after the conventional avenues of appeal had been exhausted, and that could reasonably be expected to have affected the verdict.

Steven Truscott filed a section 690 Criminal Code application for a review of his 1959 conviction of murder on November 29, 2001.

Mr. Kaufman will investigate the section 690 Criminal Code application on behalf of the Minister of Justice. He will then assess the information gathered during the investigation and advise the Minister of Justice whether a remedy is appropriate in the circumstances of Mr. Truscott's case.

The Honourable Fred Kaufman, C.M., Q.C., is a member of the Bars of Quebec and Alberta. He served as a judge of the Quebec Court of Appeal from 1973 to 1991, when he returned to private practice. Mr. Kaufman headed the Ontario Commission on Proceedings Involving Guy Paul Morin, which filed its Report in April 1998.

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Suzanne Thébarge
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