Jacques Delisle saga: “A real fortune” in resources

The Jacques Delisle case will occupy a special place in the judicial annals of Quebec, in particular because of the enormous resources deployed by the State, unheard of according to several lawyers who point out, however, that this is the price of democracy and justice.

• Read also: Former judge Jacques Delisle will plead guilty, ending a long legal saga

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“It’s a veritable fortune that was spent by the State to try to demonstrate the guilt of Jacques Delisle over all these years,” observes criminal lawyer Jean-Pierre Rancourt.

The judges, the crown prosecutors, the court staff, the experts heard, some of whom had come from Europe, all these resources obviously come with a significant cost for the State.

• Listen to the interview with Walid Hijazi, criminal lawyer, via QUB :

“But they had no choice, Mr. Delisle never wanted to settle otherwise before today. He never wanted to admit anything or testify. The Crown had no choice to appeal, to go to the Supreme Court,” analyzes M^e Rancourt.

The price of justice

However, all of these steps up to the ministerial review, although “unusual and unprecedented” taken end to end, agrees M^e René Verret, represented the accused’s strictest right to full defense.

“Mr. Delisle had rights. He had the right to go to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. And we must not forget that he won his case during its review by the minister,” recalls the defense lawyer, who has worked for a long time in the crown and who himself led several important trials.

It is there, according to M^e Rénald Beaudry, the cost of justice that we have chosen to give ourselves as a society.

“It is special, after such a great saga, that an individual pleads guilty, but it is the price of democracy and justice,” insists the lawyer with more than 40 years of career, who describes the Delisle affair as something “never seen before”.

Unequal

The former provincial Minister of Justice, Me Marc Bellemare, however takes a critical look at the judicial review process from which Jacques Delisle benefited.

The one who has worn both hats, that of jurist and that of politician, believes that the involvement of the federal minister in the review which led to the order for a new trial casts “significant discredit” on the judicial system.

“There isn’t a day when this issue is in the news when I don’t hear that Jacques Delisle has had preferential treatment. […] It’s political, it’s cronyism, it’s favoritism and that never smells good,” criticizes Me Bellemare, specifying that judicial review is necessary when new facts are demonstrated, but that it should be done by judges and not elected officials.

The financial aspect also leads some lawyers to believe that Delisle benefited from more defense opportunities than other citizens.

“A small plumber from Gaspésie would not have had this opportunity,” illustrates Me Bellemare.

“Any citizen could have done the same process, provided they had the same money. Not sure that he would have gone that far on legal aid,” adds Me Jean-Pierre Rancourt.

The legal community surprised by the outcome of the Delisle Affair

“My legs buckled a little when I heard the news. […] I have been practicing for 42 years and I have never seen such a saga that goes before the Supreme Court twice, with an appeal to the minister. This is unheard of.”

–M^e Renald Beaudry

“This is surprising because the Supreme Court was expected to issue its decision tomorrow on the request to overturn the order for a new trial. It’s funny that it happened before this decision, we should never anticipate any decision because if the Supreme Court canceled the order for a new trial, everything would fall.”

–M^e Rene Verret

“It’s surprising, yes and no. Being the defense attorney, you want to settle his case and avoid the risk that he could go back to prison. Because if there had been a second trial, he risked going back there for life.”

–M^e Jean-Pierre Rancourt