But Markovitz was quoted in a CBC story posted online on the same date in connection with him having initially represented Ibrahim Ali, who has been charged with the first-degree murder of Burnaby teen Marrisa Shen, whose body was found in Central Park. (This Ibrahim Ali is not to be confused with another individual of the same name and birth year who was convicted in a 2016 fatal hit and run.)
Caught Off-Guard In Hawaii
A hearing panel of the British Columbia Law Society ordered a $15,000 fine of an attorney based on the following conditional admissions
The Respondent has been a member of the Law Society of British Columbia since May 14, 1993. At the time of the misconduct, the Respondent was practising as a sole practitioner exclusively in the area of criminal law. The Respondent was retained in a criminal matter on a pro bono basis pending a Rowbotham Application for a Court-ordered retainer. The Respondent did not intend to act for the accused on a pro bono basis for an indefinite period of time. The Respondent attended the accused’s first Court appearance as counsel and, at that time, was provided with a package of disclosure material (the “Crown Disclosure”) by Provincial Crown Counsel. The Crown Disclosure was, in these circumstances, provided to defence counsel subject to an implied undertaking to the Court that the contents of the Crown Disclosure would not be disclosed for any purpose other than making full answer and defence of the accused. The Crown Disclosure contained sensitive material particular to the case of the accused. The Respondent’s retainer ended approximately one month after it began when the accused retained new counsel.
Approximately one month later, while the Respondent was vacationing in Hawaii, he was contacted by a newspaper reporter seeking information from him about the accused whom he had previously represented. The Respondent advised the reporter that he was no longer counsel for the accused. The Respondent was caught “off guard” by the contact from the reporter and, because he was on vacation, was not specifically focused on his obligations as counsel.
In the course of the interview with the reporter, the Respondent verified to the reporter information that could only be in his possession as part of the information contained within the Crown Disclosure. With that confirmation provided by the Respondent, it is clearly established that there was a breach of the implied undertaking to only use the Crown Disclosure material in the defence of his former client.
Following the interview, the reporter published a story that identified the Respondent as being a source for the confirmation of information contained in the Crown Disclosure. As a consequence of that publication, Crown prosecutors and police were alerted to the breach by the Respondent of both the duty to retain the Crown Disclosure confidential and the implied undertaking to the Court with respect to the contents of the Crown Disclosure. Crown Counsel complained to the Law Society, and following an investigation, the Citation in this matter was issued.
Vancouver Sun reported
The citation does not identify the reporter or say which media outlet Markovitz spoke to, or refer to the story in question, and it does not say what Crown disclosure was involved.
The article deals with questions surrounding police techniques used during the investigation of the July 2017 murder.
Ali was arrested in September 2018 after one of the most intensive investigations by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.
(Mike Frisch)
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