Media organizations in Windsor have won a legal battle that prevents a publication ban in an upcoming civil case against Windsor police.
The department is being sued for negligent investigation by a man who was charged with sexual assault. The man was later acquitted.
CTV Windsor and Bell Media, together with the Windsor Star and CBC, opposed an application that, among other things, originally called for the courtroom to be closed to the public.
The police service also wanted to seal the court file in their application for a summary motion to dismiss the lawsuit against them, but Superior Court Justice Kirk Monroe ruled an original publication ban in the criminal matter adequately protected the identity of the complainant.
Lawyer David Robins, from Strosberg Sasso Sutts LLP, argued it would be wrong to seal the file because it violates the open court principle enshrined by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Bell Media legal counsel Grace Shafran says the decision is a strong recognition of the importance of open courts, and public institutions like police must be held publicly accountable.
The Windsor Police Services Board and other police defendants in the case have been ordered to pay the media consortium, costs in the amount of $6,500.
