Court reserves decision on Dennis Oland's appeal of bail denial

New Brunswick's Court of Appeal has reserved decisionon Dennis Oland's latest attempt to be freed on bail, pending the appeal of his murder conviction.

Chief Justice Ernest Drapeauoffered no date Mondayfor a bail decision, saying only thatthe three-justice panel will makea ruling "in the fullness of time."

He did, however, set Oct. 18 as the tentative date for Oland's appeal of his second-degree murder convictionin the2011 bludgeoning death of his father, prominent businessman RichardOland,to be heard.

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Oland,48,who was inshackles,showed no reaction as he was led out of the courtroomby sheriff's deputies to bereturned to anundisclosed federal prison, where he will have to wait an indefinite period of time for a bail decision.

He did smile at his wife,mother and about a dozen other supporterswhen he arrived for the hearing and chatted with them briefly from the prisoner's box during a short recess.

No one offered any comments following the proceedings.

Oland has been seeking release since Feb. 12, the day after he was handed a mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole for a minimum of10 years.

On Feb. 17,Court of Appeal Justice J.C. Marc Richard denied Oland's application, saying to release a convicted murderer on bail pendingappeal would undermine the public's confidence in the justice system.

A convicted murderer has never been granted bail in New Brunswick.

Oland's lawyers hadasked Drapeauto order a review Mondayof Richard'sdecision and if he granted their motion, they hadrequested arguments be heard immediately afterward.

It seems Drapeau agreed before the public court hearing began at 2 p.m. AT because he was joined by justices Margaret Larlee and Kathleen Quigg,and defence lawyer Alan Gold launched right in on behalf of Oland's three-member defence team.

He argued Richard erred in denying Oland bail byrelying unduly on his conviction being for murder, given thatthe Criminal Code allows for bail to be considered for all offences.

I was surprised there had been so many cases Release is not that exceptional.- Ernest Drapeau, chief justice of theCourt of Appeal

Richard also erred by "relying on the public's presumption that the jury was reasonably composed and would have acted reasonably in coming to a result," said Gold, since their instructions from the trial judge could have been wrong.

The Court of Appeal through the "lens of judicial experience"can "better understand what inferences can and should be drawn than jury of lay people," he said.

Gold said Richardalso erred by suggesting the proposed grounds of appeal had to amount to"unique circumstances that would virtually assure a new trial or an acquittal" in order togrant bail.

The defence found 51 second-degree murder cases across Canada where bail was sought pending appeal and nearly halfof them 24 were successful.

Bail has also been granted to 10 of 26 first-degree murder applicants, the defence found.

Gold stressed that even Richard had referred to the grounds for appeal in Oland's case as being"clearly arguable."

Drapeaudescribedthe list of cases as helpful.

"I must say it opened my eyes," he said."I was surprised there had been so many cases Release is not that exceptional."

Can't access funds

Oland'slawyershad alsofiled 38 affidavits in support of their motion, as well as a supplementary affidavit from RobertMcFadden, who is co-trustee withOlandof a spousaltrust set up for ConnieOland, pursuant to RichardOland'swill.

In the document, dated Feb. 8,McFaddendoesn't specifically say DennisOlandwould not have enough money to be a flight risk, but he says the only compensationOlandcurrentlyreceives as co-trustee is $40,000 per year, which is paidquarterly.

"Dennis Olandwill receive no further compensation as a co-executor of Richard Oland's estate or from the companies, of which he is co-director, statesMcFadden."The entire residue of RichardOland's estate has been transferred into the trust."

Dennis Olandcannot access any funds from thetrust or from thecompanies without McFadden'sco-signature. "I would never authorize the disbursement of trust funds except in accordance with my fiduciary duties to the beneficiaries of the estate, which include Dennis Oland, his mother and his two sisters," wrote McFadden.

"Beyond Dennis Oland's compensation as co-trustee of the trust, I do not anticipate that any other trust funds will be disbursed to him pending a decision on his appeal."

Trust in jury system crucial

Crown prosecutor Kathryn Gregory argued Monday murder is the most serious conviction and trust in the jury system is "crucial" to the justice system.

She said even if there are arguable grounds for Oland's appeal, there is not enough to warrant his release pending appeal.

Drapeau asked how long it mightbe before Oland's appeal could be heard. Gregory said it likelywouldn't be until at least October because transcripts of his three-month trial have to be prepared first.

"If I were a betting person, I would think 2017 would probably be when it gets to the court," said Gold.

Drapeau decided to tentativelyschedule a week, starting on Oct. 18, for the appeal hearing, in hopes it will help "expeditethe process."

"It's not a question of treating Mr. Oland any differently," said Drapeau. "I'm looking, gazing into the crystal ball, I'm looking at 2017 and I might not even be a justice of the Court of Appeal at that time," he said, possibly hinting he might retire. "It's a long way down the road."

An October hearing will be "better for the administration of justice," he said. "It shouldn't go to 2017. It should go as soon as possible."

In December, a jury found Olandguilty of second-degree murder in the 2011 death of his father, multimillionaire Saint John businessman Richard Oland.

Richard Oland, 69, was found beaten to death in his Saint John office, suffering 45 sharp and blunt force injuries to his head, neck and hands. No weapon was ever found.