of the hearings impairs the ability of Ms. Guess to consult effectively with and instruct her attorney. Since it is not known exactly what transpired at the hearings, it is difficult to comment specifically on effects this had on her trial, but it does not seem unreasonable to argue that the gagging of one's attorney concerning certain issues of fact and law and the corresponding destruction of an optimal (or even satisfactory) attorney-client interaction vitiates one's right to a fair trial and deprives one of liberty without due process of law. The court's failure to explain officially its depart from precedent seems ill-advised. While it is difficult to see why Ms. Guess should not have been privy to the secret hearings and then bound by court order to disclose nothing, that is not to say definitively there could have been no countervailing state concern of sufficient magnitude to overcome Ms. Guess' interest in a fair trial. Perhaps there is some concern or group of concerns that might demand secret hearings, but the court certainly owes Ms. Guess, the public, and future jurists an explanation as to what—in conceptual if not specific terms—those concerns are and what will qualify for the same secret treatment in the future. With secret trials being antithetical to the notion of a free and open society, it seems reasonable that their use should at least demand an explanation. In an interesting twist, the court may have injured itself, as the lack of any explanation for its decision has undermined the court's credibility with numerous observers who have suggested that improper pressure on the court from certain powerful figures in the Canadian government, as opposed to any compelling legal justification, was the real reason for holding the hearings in secret. Police allegations According to the Vancouver Police Department, Peter Gill (also known as Preet Sarbjit Gill) and his brother-in-law ran a gang involved in the drug trade in Vancouver. Police believed that in February 1994, the gang lured Jimsher Dosanjh (aged 26) to an alley, where they murdered him with machine guns. Two months later, the gang allegedly also murdered Dosanjh's brother Ranjit. Relationship between Guess and Gill In the case of Regina v. Gill, Peter Gill was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Five of his associates, Bhupinder (Bindy) Johal, Rajinder Kumar Benji, Michael Kent Budai, Ho Sik (Phil) Kim, and Sun News Lal were