Justin Bourque's lawyer David Lutz defends handling of case

Justin Bourque’s lawyer rejects accusations he did a poor job of defending the killer of three RCMP officers, but a criminologist says his critic makes valid points.

David Lutz defended Bourque on charges of killing the three Mounties and wounding two more in a spree that paralyzed Moncton, N.B., in the summer of 2014. 

"I wouldn't have done anything adverse to what my client's instructions were," Lutz said Thursday.

Bourque received the longest sentence in Canadian history — he’ll serve at least 75 years before he can apply for parole, at which point he’d be 99 years old.

Quebec lawyer Jean-Claude Hébert said a "profound injustice" took place in the trial and called on the New Brunswick Law Society to appoint a lawyer to appeal Bourque’s sentence.

Writing in the journal of the Quebec bar, Hébert said Lutz's agreement with the Crown (in the agreed statement of facts) that the triple police killing was "one of the most heinous crimes in Canadian history" breached the responsibility of absolute loyalty of a lawyer.

• Read Hebert's article (in French)

"I am convinced, and I am not the only one, that there was a profound injustice in how this case was handled," reads a translation of his remarks. 

Harder fight needed, critics say

Hébert also said Lutz should have ordered his own psychiatric assessment of Bourque to try to reduce the verdict to second-degree murder or criminal irresponsibility.

The Quebec lawyer also said the new option of adding together three life sentences, without chance of parole for 75 years, could be judged cruel and unusual punishment.

Lutz invited Hébert to launch that appeal himself.

"People who don't know all the facts can always be counted on to give their opinion on what they would have done in my circumstances," he said.

Marie-Andrée Pelland, a criminologist at Université de Moncton, backed parts of Hébert’s argument.

"He did not fight very hard to protect the rights of Justin Bourque, to understand who he is as a person," Pelland said, speaking in French. "And why did he not ask for a 25-year sentence?"

The Law Society of New Brunswick says it can’t intervene unless a formal complaint is made.