Ontario's Legal Aid Society made "catastrophic errors in judgment" in the way it handled the defence of former police officer and convicted murderer Richard Wills, according to an ombudsman report released Tuesday.

The province's ombudsman, Andre Marin, called on the province to amend its laws to prevent future financial fiascos and said officials should do what they could to recover the $1.1 million it cost taxpayers to defend Wills.

Attorney General Chris Bentley said the province will take Wills to court in an effort to get some of the money back.

In the report, titled "A Test of Wills," Marin blasted Legal Aid Ontario for working in a culture where there seems to be little consideration for taxpayer dollars.

"Legal Aid Ontario, which had initially turned him down, refused to keep a close eye on (Wills') lawyers' bills," Marin said in his opening remarks.

"This was because the money was coming from the Ministry of the Attorney General, and a culture had developed within LAO that essentially said, 'if it's not our money, it's not our problem.' That culture, combined with catastrophic errors in judgment on Legal Aid Ontario's part, created this mess," he said.

Wills had a significant amount of assets in his name but when it became clear he would go to trial for the murder of his long-time lover Linda Mariani, he transferred his assets to his estranged wife and children. He then applied for legal aid.

His assets included a police pension of $1,900 a month and five residential properties.

According to the report, Wills' defence was originally estimated to cost the province about $50,000. However, that cost soon ballooned to $1,105,063.42.

Here is where some of the money went:

  • Seven publicly-funded lawyers as Wills fired several of his legal representatives
  • 293 days in court -- 65 days of preliminary hearing, 144 days of pre-trial matters and 84 days of trial

"In this test of wills, Legal Aid Ontario failed, and the Ontario taxpayers lost," Marin said. "So did the Ontario justice system.

"It was a shameful episode that never should have happened and should never be repeated. But make no mistake -- it could happen again if nothing is done."

Marin made several recommendations to the province:

  • Pass laws that make it possible to go after those who divest themselves of assets in order to become eligible for public funds
  • The Ministry of the Attorney General do whatever it can to recover some of the wasted funds
  • Create new legislation that will clearly identify the roles of LAO and the Ministry, making LAO the watchdog over publicly-funded cases
  • Monitoring improvements by LAO, the Ministry and the government in these areas

Marin said while he has been harsh on LAO, the president of the organization has accepted the recommendations and has taken responsibility for failures in the Wills case.

The ombudsman also said legal aid rates are too cheap and that as a result, a quality defence in court is often compromised.

"I think Legal Aid Ontario gets this and is on the road to recovery," Marin said. "I'm hopeful that the government will agree with me that the time to act on these issues is now."

Legal Aid Ontario by the numbers

  • The organization's operating budget in 2005-06 was $309.3 million
  • 131,157 applications were processed that year but only 111,018 were approved
  • The highest rate approved for top lawyers is $96.95 an hour
  • In 2006-07, LAO had 49 "big cases" with budgets exceeding $75,000

With files from The Canadian Press