July 20, 2016
2016 Quebec Superior Court Djermane Judgment

The issues in Djermane were twofold. First, the accused argued that the sworn statements in support of search warrants were barred from publication because the same evidence, in a different format, had been presented at the bail hearing where a statutory publication ban had been issued. Second, the accused adduced expert evidence from an expert in sociology that the current context in Quebec with regards to islamophobia rendered public discourse on terrorism and Muslims dangerous and noxious.

The first argument was dismissed by the Quebec Court judge, and her reasons on this issue were confirmed by the Superior Court judge who dismissed the accused’s application for certiorari.

As for the second argument, the lower Court judge found that the expert report lacked the basic qualities that would allow her to even admit it into evidence as per the Mohan test.