FREDERICTON -- Defence lawyers for Dennis Oland say they plan to appeal this week's decision to deny their client bail while he awaits appeal of his murder conviction.
"We are in the process of preparing an application to the Chief Justice for leave to appeal the bail decision," lawyer Alan Gold wrote in an email Thursday.
No convicted murderer has ever been granted bail while awaiting appeal in New Brunswick.
"Applying for bail pending appeal on a murder conviction is rare, and appealing the bail decision in such a case is even more rare," said Nicole O'Byrne, a law professor at the University of New Brunswick.
"This is becoming a very interesting case from a legal perspective," she said.
On Wednesday, Justice Marc Richard said Oland, who was convicted of the second-degree murder of his father Richard Oland, is not a danger to the public. But, he said, that's not a good enough reason to grant him bail.
"Should Mr. Oland be released in these circumstances, the confidence of the reasonable member of the public in the administration of criminal justice would be undermined," Justice Marc Richard told a packed courtroom.
In a statement issued shortly after the decision, Oland's mother, Connie and wife, Lisa, said the decision to deny bail was difficult to accept.
"We know Dennis has been wrongly convicted and are confident our appeal will see justice prevail. His prolonged absence will be incredibly difficult and only serves to further compound the loss and anguish our family has suffered since Dick's murder," they wrote.
The body of Richard Oland was discovered face down in a pool of blood in his Saint John office on July 7, 2011.
He had suffered 45 blunt and sharp force blows to his head, neck and hands.
Oland was convicted in December and has begun serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for 10 years.
The court has been told it would be at least October before an appeal of the conviction could be heard.
O'Byrne said the trial judge had section 679 of the Criminal Code to consider as he weighed the bail application.
"The judge who makes the decision on the bail has to show in his reasons that he put his mind to all the relevant factors outlined in the Criminal Code. And I would assume that they are appealing that he did not take a factor into account or did not give it the proper weight," she said.
