Tentative trial date set for Frank editor charged with breaking publication ban

HALIFAX – The editor of a Halifax gossip and satire magazine brandished his publication Tuesday after a trial date was set for allegations he violated a publication ban in the case of a man charged with murdering a female police officer.

Frank Magazine’s managing editor, Andrew Douglas, briefly appeared Tuesday in Halifax provincial court for the setting of the Dec. 15 court date.

Judge Gregory Lenehan said the date could be changed, and that the lawyers would discuss the date again before it is confirmed.

After his appearance, Douglas held up his magazine and its cover, which refers to the prosecution as a “persecution,” and said it contains detailed coverage of his own case.

“If you want to know how simple-minded the case is, it’s all in here,” he said, referring to his magazine, which he said contains articles outlining the case.

The Crown was unavailable for comment, but prosecutor Catherine Cogswell has said the prosecution is confident in its case and believes there is a reasonable probability of a conviction.

The Frank article that drew the police charges was based on a document concerning Catherine Campbell, a 36-year-old Truro police officer.

The document was placed before the court as the preliminary hearing into the second-degree murder charges against Christopher Calvin Garnier was starting.

Police have said Campbell went missing after meeting a man at a bar in Halifax, and that her body was found near an overpass that leads to a harbour bridge.

Douglas has repeatedly said his story about Campbell was researched, written and published ahead of the publication ban and that this is a valid defence against the publication ban accusation.