Judge dismisses publication ban charge against Frank Magazine writer

Andrew Douglas, managing editor of Frank Magazine, at provincial court in Halifax on Sept. 20, 2016. (Andrew Vaughan / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

HALIFAX -- A judge has dismissed a charge against a Halifax magazine writer accused of breaching a publication ban related to the case of the death of an off-duty Nova Scotia police officer.

The case against Andrew Douglas, the managing editor of the satire and gossip publication Frank Magazine, was dropped after a senior Crown attorney appeared in provincial court to say no evidence would be provided by prosecutors.

Douglas was charged with breaching a ban shortly after the launch of a preliminary inquiry into the homicide of Truro police officer Catherine Campbell last year.

Police alleged the magazine published a story online the same day the hearing began last July 11 and contained information that was subject to the ban, which applied to all evidence presented at the hearing.

The same story appeared in the print edition of the magazine, which appeared on newsstands on July 13. Douglas has said his story was researched, written and published ahead of the publication ban.

Christopher Calvin Garnier is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Campbell, who served as a Truro police constable for six years before her death.

Paul Carver, the chief Crown attorney for the Halifax region, said outside court that he had reviewed the case law provided by the defence and decided there was no reasonable prospect of a conviction.

The magazine had mailed the Crown several clear court rulings in other jurisdictions indicating reporters can publish information banned at a preliminary trial which comes from sources other than the court proceedings themselves.