On November 3, 2010, Commissioner William Davies, Q.C. is scheduled to resume hearings into the response of the Criminal Justice Branch to the death of Frank Joseph Paul.

Mr. Paul died in December of 1998 after Vancouver police dragged him, soaking wet, from the jail and transported him by wagon to an alley in an industrial area, where he was left, alone and cold. He succumbed to hypothermia within a few hours. No criminal charges were laid.

The Criminal Justice Branch challenged Commissioner Davies’ decision that the Crown counsel involved in the charge assessment decisions could be called as witnesses at the hearings. The Branch’s litigation in the BC Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada was ultimately unsuccessful.

An pre-hearing meeting of counsel has been scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Friday, October 22, 2010 in Room 816 of the Federal Court building at 701 West Georgia Street in Vancouver.