Sexual predator Lance Blanchard's lawyer denied access to victim's records
The lawyer for convicted sexual predator Lance Blanchard lost a bid Monday to get more information related to the victim, identified by CBC News as Angela Cardinal.
In a hearing that was closed to the public, defence lawyer Tom Engel asked for access to police records and court documents associated to Cardinal's past, including her shooting death.
Engel still intends to apply for a mistrial next month. But he'll have to do it without the additional information and records he requested.
In a written decision, Justice Eric Macklin wrote, "The applicant (Blanchard) has not established that the disclosure sought is likely relevant to an issue that could have affected the outcome of the case against him."
Engel's long-standing theory has been that Cardinal lied about being sexually assaulted by Blanchard in June 2014, that she concocted a story to cover up the fact that she broke into his apartment to steal from him.
The judge highlighted the size disparity between the criminal and the victim. Blanchard was almost six foot eight and weighed 260 pounds at the time of the attack, while Cardinal stood five feet tall and weighed 109 pounds.
Macklin noted Engel "does not explain how his theory would support a defence to the brutal assault and other offences he inflicted upon the complainant ... including numerous cuts with a knife and her head being hit violently against the floor."
The judge also observed Blanchard's lawyer "has spent much time attempting to undermine the complainant's character and credibility," with a specific focus on Cardinal's lifestyle and drug use.
The affidavit filed by Engel repeated a suggestion that Cardinal was a drug addict who came up with theft scams.
Macklin also rejected those allegations had any connection to Blanchard's conviction.
"Her story was internally consistent," Macklin wrote. "Neither (Blanchard's) testimony, nor anything else in the evidence at trial raised a reasonable doubt as to (Blanchard's) guilt on the counts of which he was convicted."
Cardinal was shot and killed in December 2015. An autopsy revealed there were drugs in her system when she died, but Macklin ruled any evidence of drug consumption a year and a half after she was attacked by Blanchard was not relevant to the June 2014 sex assault.
"I took her drug use into account in assessing her credibility at trial," Macklin wrote, "and further general evidence of drug use at other times would not be relevant to an assessment of her credibility with respect to the incident in question or her preliminary inquiry testimony."
In turning down Engel's request, Macklin also looked at the bigger picture.
"In my view," he wrote, "production of the records would be based on a discriminatory belief or bias, it would discourage similar victims from coming forward, and it would have a negative impact on the integrity of the trial process."
The defence lawyer's mistrial application will be heard July 26.
