It was very cold in Vancouver this morning as I made my way to the Courthouse on Howe Street. By 10am. the court room was full. I counted 33 lawyers and nearly 90 people in the public seating.
After the introduction of lawyers to the judge, the morning session was mostly taken up by the CBC lawyer, who made a lengthy presentation to the court requesting that the CBC be allowed to both live-stream proceedings via computer, and introduce TV cameras into the courtroom to allow for the filming of certain sections of the testimony to be given in coming weeks. Chief Justice Bauman denied the request. (A more detailed report is here)
The afternoon began with Judge Bauman's reasons for the denial, followed by the B.C. government's introduction to the case. The government lawyer gave a preliminary in-depth explanation of polygamy as practised in many countries and religions of the world. He then turned to his opening statement, which gave an overview of the criminal law against polygamy in Canada, in which his main premise detailed the harm caused by the practice. For more, see here
Proceedings were halted at 4pm., and opening statements from lawyers will continue to be heard tomorrow.
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