Lawyer’s child-porn case remains a secret

An Ontario lawyer has been convicted of possessing child pornography and given permission to resign from his profession.

It’s believed to be the first time that’s ever happened in Ontario.

But because of a publication ban imposed by a judge in his criminal case in Brampton in December 2009, there is almost nothing more you can know.

We can’t tell you why the ban was imposed in the Ontario Court of Justice, who asked for it or whether there was opposition.

We can tell you his name is Howard Baker, only because the law society included his name on its website when he resigned from the profession.

We can’t tell you whether Justice Louise Botham wrestled with whether to take the drastic step of shrouding the case in secrecy.

We can tell you courts are meant to be open and this kind of ban is extraordinary.

But we can’t tell you whether Justice Botham followed principles the Supreme Court of Canada has told judges to consider when confronted with a request to ban publication.

We can’t tell you whether the judge insisted on seeing evidence that a ban was necessary to ensure the fairness of a trial and whether that justified infringing on freedom of expression.

We can tell you that Nadia Liva, the lawyer’s lawyer, told the Star by email that she and prosecutor Marquis Felix and Botham talked about a ban in the judge’s chambers beforehand and “it was agreed by all that the publication ban, in this case, was warranted.”

We can’t tell you whether Botham considered alternatives to a ban.