Accused Winnipeg bomber Guido Amsel trying to get lawyer from out of province

The man accused of mailing explosives to three people is seeking legal counsel out of province, and that could be because he has concerns about getting a fair trial, a Winnipeg law professor says.

Guido Amsel, 49, has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, one count of aggravated assault and several charges relating to the possession of explosives. Amsel has not entered pleas to the charges against him or indicated if he plans to seek bail.

• Guido Amsel went through bitter, lengthy divorce, court records show
• Winnipeg mail bomb targets were 3 women

He appeared in court briefly via video link on Thursday and a lawyer acting as a friend of the court said Amsel is in
the midst of securing a lawyer from another province. 

Amsel has had issues obtaining legal representation in Manitoba. Various members of the legal community have claimed they have concerns about their personal safety, or that they personally know one of Amsel's alleged targets in lawyer Maria Mitousis, and would therefore be in a conflict of interest representing the 49 year old.

While there have been a few lawyers in Manitoba who have reached out and offered to represent Amsel, he has refused, claiming he feels he would be better represented by someone without any ties to the case.

"If he's making that choice it may be because he's concerned about ... the quality of representation he would get — whether those are legitimate concerns or not, we don't know," said Debra Parkes, a law professor at the University of Manitoba. "I think he could get local counsel that would act competently."

Parkes said she hopes defence lawyers who decided not to come forward to represent Amsel made that decision in an ethical way.

"Certainly with respect to defence lawyers, again, they represent people charged with all kinds of very serious offences, and you know, the cannons of legal ethics are such that everyone is entitled to a defence — particularly when you're charged with something in the public eye."

Earlier this month Mitousis, 38, lost her right hand and badly hurt the left while opening one of those packages on July 3. She also suffered injuries to her face, chest and thighs and underwent 12 hours of surgery.

A package intended for Amsel's ex-wife was detonated by police July 4 at a business on Washington Avenue. No one was injured.

The third bomb was detonated by police near the law office of Orle Bargen and Davidson on Stradbrook Avenue on July 5. The lawyer who represented him in the divorce proceedings used to work there but no longer does.

Amsel is set to return to court on July 31.