Trudeau’s tweets are problematic, says criminal defense lawyer

Reactions to the not-guilty verdict of Gerald Stanley, who was charged with second-degree murder in the death of 22-year-old Colten Boushie, are still running rampant throughout the country.

Boushie was shot in the head in August 2016 while sitting in the driver’s seat of an SUV. The vehicle was sitting in Stanley’s farm in Biggar, Sask.

University of Windsor law graduate and criminal defense lawyer Bobby Russon believes it is extremely problematic for the Prime Minister to have weighed in on the Bouchie verdict over social media.

 

Just spoke with @Puglaas. I can't imagine the grief and sorrow the Boushie family is feeling tonight. Sending love to them from the US.

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 10, 2018

It was an honour to meet with the Boushie family today. Thanks for sharing your story with me. We need to do better, and we’ll do it together. pic.twitter.com/pyOMc5Tgfu

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 14, 2018

“We have a system for this and it’s not Twitter. It’s the court system. If you don’t like the way something happened, file an appeal. I think he should be limiting himself to that at this stage,” said Russon.

He added the case could still have a long road in the courts.

“The case isn’t done until all of its appeals are exhausted and a case of this magnitude will, at the very least, have an appeal applied for,” said Russon.

Russon does not dispute Trudeau’s public support for the family, however.

“They lost their son. That’s tragic. There’s no doubt about that,” said Russon.

Every lawyer on every side of the #Boushie argument: “The Jury instruction proves my point.”

— Bobby Russon (@BobbyRusson) February 14, 2018

The Mediaplex’s full interview with Russon is available on the Feb. 16 edition of Mediaplex Live at 1.