Angry in the Great White North

On Thursday, the Ontario Court of Appeals ruled against Karlheinz Schreiber:

Schreiber was arrested in Toronto in August 1999 by the RCMP, at the request of Germany, which accuses him of tax evasion and fraud. On Oct. 31, 2004, Irwin Cotler, then justice minister, ordered him to surrender.

Since then, Schreiber has urged the justice minister several times to reconsider, the latest in a letter to [Justice Minister Rob Nicholson] in September.

Schreiber asked the minister to review the surrender order in light of a heated dispute between Switzerland and Germany over crucial evidence in his case.

Swiss justice officials warned their German counterparts in a letter last July that Swiss banking records were obtained by Germany under false pretences and can no longer be used at Schreiber's trial.

Sending him back to Germany under those circumstances would amount to Canada taking sides in an international legal dispute, something Nicholson failed to consider, defence lawyer Brian Greenspan argued.

Delivering judgment orally on behalf of the panel, which included Justices Kathryn Feldman and Robert Armstrong, [Justice David Doherty] said Nicholson's conclusion that Schreiber's letter raised no new legal issues was "reasonable."

The defense began to paint an absurd picture of a special ops action to get Schreiber out of the country:

Lawyer Eddie Greenspan told court he was worried Nicholson and his colleagues would bring "some Cessna" to the jail to whisk Schreiber to Buffalo after yesterday's hearing – away from the reach of Canadian law – and put him on a plane for Germany.

"I don't trust them," Greenspan said bluntly.

But Justice David Doherty left little doubt the federal government would invoke the court's wrath should it break its promise to refrain from turning the businessman over to Bavarian prosecutors.

"I would be livid if something happened tomorrow on the basis of what we've just heard here today," said Doherty, who headed a three-judge panel hearing the case.

The government has since said that no move to extradite Schreiber would happen before December 1:

After the ruling, Greenspan asked that the justice department provide a formal undertaking it would not move to immediately extradite Schreiber – a promise that would carry the risk that Nicholson or his lawyers could be subject to professional disciplinary proceedings should it not be honoured.

Federal prosecutors Nancy Dennison and Richard Kramer requested a 90-minute adjournment so they could consult with "the appropriate persons."

"You wouldn't be taking him (Schreiber) anywhere over the lunch hour, I take it?" Doherty asked.

Back in court, Dennison and Kramer reported an undertaking was not possible, but said the minister was prepared to offer assurances he would not move against Schreiber for at least two weeks.

Greenspan said it wasn't good enough.

"I'm shocked, actually, that you say you don't trust, you don't believe him," said Doherty. "There's no basis for saying that, in the nine years this (extradition case) has been going on, that I'm aware of."

Greenspan said his concerns were prompted by a "cat-and-mouse game" that unfolded last month when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police tried to one-up Schreiber's lawyers with a plan to remove him from Canada seconds after the Supreme Court dismissed his case.

Insulting the justice minister was stupid thing to do. As many observers have pointed out, extradition ultimately becomes a political decision, and not a legal one, once the courts have decided that the extradition request was appropriately made with sufficient weight of evidence. In the case of Karlheinz Schreiber, the courts have decided exactly that.

Repeatedly, in fact.

So Rob Nicholson has supplied assurances not to extradite Schreiber in this two week window. So why not any undertakings? I'm not a lawyer, but I think the reasoning is simply that the courts are no longer involved. The ruling has come down. Case closed. To ask that a lawyer put his career on the line when there is no legal issues at stake and when the courts have essentially vacated the stage is manifestly unfair.

Now it's up to Justice Minister Nicholson, and Greenspan's comments are not likely to endear him to the minister.

I'd trust Rob Nicholson to keep to his word and not make a move on Schreiber before December 1.

But when the clock strikes midnight, I wouldn't be surprised if Karlheinz Schreiber was shuffled onto that RCMP plane and handed over to the Germans.

Schreiber's patsies and dupes in the Liberal Party can howl if they like, but two weeks is two weeks. Actually, I guess it's twelve days now.

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