David Bain Compensation Claim Scandal
In 2011, Binnie was asked by the New Zealand Minister of Justice, Simon Power to investigate a compensation claim made by New Zealander David Bain, who spent 13 years in prison for murdering his family - but was eventually acquitted in a retrial. The case made frequent headlines in New Zealand and divided public opinion for many years because of the drawn out nature of the appeals process which went all the way to the Privy Council in London.
After a 12 month investigation, Binnie concluded that original police investigation was incompetent, declared Bain to be innocent on the 'balance of probabilities' and recommended he should be paid compensation. The new Justice Minister Judith Collins rejected the findings of the report, saying it lacked robust reasoning and showed a misunderstanding New Zealand law. This led to a public spat between the New Zealand Minister of Justice and Judge Binnie, who accused Judith Collins of politicising the process. Collins said the government would be getting a second opinion on compensation without letting Bain's legal team know what was in it, a decision Bain supporters slammed as a double standard. Binnie criticised Collins for refusing to give a copy of the report to Bain's legal team and for leaking details of his report to the media.
Colleagues in Canada rallied to his defence. The President of the Canadian Bar Association, Robert Brun, QC, said Binnie "is held in the highest esteem by both the legal community and the judiciary for his integrity, skill, and experience. He is praised for his honesty and intellect, and his reputation extends well beyond Canada's borders."
Read more about this topic: Ian Binnie
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