Crown drops contempt of court charges agains ME of Frank magazine

Andrew Douglas photo: Canadian Press

The managing editor of the Nova Scotia  based version of Frank magazine has seen contempt of court charges dropped by the Crown in provincial court. After looking at case law provided by the defence, the chief Crown attorney for Halifax region, Paul Carver, said that court rulings in other jurisdictions indicated that a reporter can report on information banned at a preliminary hearing provided the information doesn't come from the court proceedings itself. The Crown would therefore not be presenting any evidence.  

Andrew Douglas was charged with breaching a court-ordered ban after the launch of a preliminary inquiry into the homicide of Truro police officer Catherine Campbell last year. The online story appeared on the same day as the publication ban, but Douglas maintained he had researched, written and published it ahead of the ban and was based on a document not obtained through the court process.