The end to an eight-month boycott of the legal aid system by Ontario lawyers means a couple of murder cases in the Hastings-Quinte area can now go ahead. The ban by the criminal lawyers, including those in the Quinte area called for a fee increase. The new deal gives them an hourly 5-percent raise annually for seven years. Local Crown Attorney Lee Burgess says it was a priority to get this settled since it was ‘bogging down” some of the most serious cases in the province. Two local cases will now go ahead…Marcus Wilson, charged with murdering a man at CFB Trenton…Mark Chapman and Kevin Rattan charged with murdering Stephanie Gardener in the Bancroft area.
