There may be new evidence in a 35-year-old rape case that sent a former Nova Scotia politician and lawyer to prison.

Gordon “Paddy” Fitzgerald fought to clear his name until the day he died this past May.

Now, his daughter has won a court decision to gain access to withheld and redacted documents, and she says new evidence from a retired police officer shows her father was wrongfully convicted.

“What I’m looking for mostly is the investigative reports and any of the witness statements that we’ve never seen,” says Allison Jones, her dining room packed with legal documents she and her late father accumulated during their seven-year battle to get documents relating to his conviction in 1980.

Although a judge has ordered the release of documents Jones was seeking, the Crown prosecutors and Justice Department have refused to turn them over.

“I’m at a loss to understand why the Crown is fighting so hard to keep these documents away from this family and the courts,” says Jones.

The Crown prosecutor’s office won’t release the documents because it is appealing the judge’s decision.

Spokesperson Chris Hansen says the decision will be appealed on the basis that the original application for the documents was done on a Freedom of Information request.

“FOIPOP says there are some things that you can release, and some things that you can’t release, and so we’ll be arguing the gist of that, or details of that in court,” says Hansen.

Fitzgerald was granted a pardon in 1993, but, before his death, he was still fighting to collect enough evidence to submit a wrongful application to the federal justice minister.

“You need new evidence. We do have new evidence with the detective’s statement and a few other statements we have,” says Jones.

Retired Halifax police officer Larry Clarke swore in an affidavit that “as a result of my assessment of the evidence provided by (complainant) and our subsequent inquiries into her credibility, I would not agree to swear the information creating the charge.”

Clarke was a trial witness for the Crown, but said “during my testimony I was not asked anything about my concerns regarding (complainant’s) allegations, nor was I asked about my investigation into (complainant) or the conclusion I reached regarding her lack of credibility.”

Clarke told CTV News he still holds those views today.

The Crown must file an appeal by Aug. 19.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Rick Grant