Lee inquest suspended indefinitely

A coroner's inquest into the actions of a man who stabbed four members of his family to death before killing himself in 2007 in Oak Bay, B.C., has been suspended indefinitely because of the coroner's ruling that two Crown lawyers testify.

Stan Lowe, a spokesperson for the B.C. Criminal Justice Branch, said forcing an appearance by the Crown lawyers who approved Peter Lee's bail one month before the killings, threatens the independence of all Crown lawyers.

"What we oppose is cross-examining individual Crown counsel because the concern, once again, is it will have a chilling effect on the prosecution service," Lowe said outside the hearing Wednesday.

"People will not be able to freely exercise their discretion because they're concerned about one day being brought to an inquiry."

Jurors have indicated they want to hear from the two Crown lawyers — Ruth Picha and Laura Ford — who handled the case of a single-car crash involving Lee and his wife, Sunny Park. The couple, their six-year-old son and Park's parents were found dead in what a coroner called a murder-suicide on Sept. 4, 2007.

'We will meet the requirements of this inquest but … We have to protect the legal system.' — Stan Lowe, spokesperson for B.C. Justice Branch

The Crown has provided testimony at the inquest about why Lee was granted bail in the car crash case even after his wife had told police that her husband was deliberately trying to injure her. Jennifer Power, who is Vancouver Island's head Crown counsel, reviewed the Lee file and testified on behalf of the two Crown lawyers involved in the case.

But the inquest jury has asked to hear first-hand from the lawyers involved, and Jeff Dolan, the coroner presiding over the inquest, ruled that the two should appear.

The coroner's lawyer, John Orr, said calling a Crown to testify doesn't undermine the independence of the Crown's office.

"The right to the Crown to make those decisions is not being questioned. A coroner's inquest is not a fault-finding exercise at all," Orr said Wednesday. "We're just saying there is factual evidence they need to give that we can't get elsewhere."

Lowe said the Criminal Justice Branch is not trying to derail the inquest or hide any facts.

"In this case here, we'll provide you as much information as we can and we'll meet the requirements of this inquest, but at the same time, we have to protect the legal system," he said.

In deciding to adjourn the inquest until after a court hearing on a similar issue that arose at another inquiry, Dolan said he doesn't want it to appear that anyone is getting special treatment. A hearing on the other matter is set for May 26.

The Criminal Justice Branch said it plans to have the coroner's order reviewed by a Supreme Court judge and the judicial review will be held at the end of May. A date to resume the inquest won't be set until after a decision is rendered in the judicial review.