CANADA - Former police lawyer taken off Hells Angels case

OFF THE WIRE
'Real possibility of mischief ... and prejudice,' judge notes
A B.C. Supreme Court judge has removed a defence lawyer from an extortion case linked to the Hells Angels because the lawyer used to work with the B.C. police unit that targeted organized crime.
In a judgment last week, Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick removed Jennifer McCormick as counsel for Rajinder Singh Sandhu, who is charged with various offences relating to an alleged extortion in Nanaimo. The judge noted "the real possibility of mischief and also the risk of prejudice."
In the past, McCormick had acted as in-house counsel for the Organized Crime Agency of B.C. (OCA), a policing and law enforcement unit established under the Police Act that was later made part of the federal organized crime unit.
It had been argued that her work with the OCA may have made her privy to insider information that could jeopardize the trial.
Also charged in the 2010 extortion case, dubbed Project E-Pulpit, were Frederick Widdifield, Jeffrey Benvin and Robbie Lajeunesse.
Widdifiel d is a high-ranking member of the motorcycle club's Nanaimo chapter and has served as a spokesman for the group.
It is alleged the extortion "was committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal organization, namely the Nanaimo Chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club," according to court documents.
From January 2001 to December 2003, the OCA conducted Project Halo, an investigation into the "participation of members of the Hells Angels in the production and/or distribution of marijuana, cocaine and hashish," according to the documents.
One of the members was Widdifield.
In a July hearing, crown counsel argued McCormick's link to Project Halo created a conflict with respect to her representation of Sandhu in Project E-Pulpit.
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