Dennis Oland to travel to Ottawa for Supreme Court bail appeal

Dennis Olandwill attend his bail appeal hearing at the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa next week, the family's lawyer has confirmed.

Oland, 48, was just granted bail onTuesday after the New Brunswick Court of Appeal overturned his second-degree murder conviction in the2011 bludgeoning death of his father, multimillionaire Richard Oland,and ordered a new trial.

He had been in prison since Dec. 19, 2015, serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for at least 10 years.

"Obviously Dennis and his family are very pleased with the Court of Appeal decisions," lawyer Bill Teed told CBC News."To be with his family once again means the world to him."

Oland, a husband and the father of three children and a stepson,spent Wednesday his first full day as a free man once again "very quietly with family," Teed said.

• Dennis Oland released on bail by N.B. Court of Appeal, pending retrial
• Dennis Oland gets new 2nd-degree murder trial, as appeal court cites judge's error

Although the bail appeal is a moot point for Oland now that he's been released, the Supreme Court has confirmed the hearing will proceed on Oct. 31, as scheduled, said defence lawyer Alan Gold.

Gold and the other members of Oland's defence team, Gary Miller and James McConnell, hadsought leave to the country's highest court after the New Brunswick Court of Appeal twice refused to release Oland on bail pending his murder conviction appeal.

Justice J.C. Marc Richard had ruled in February"theconfidence of the public in the administration of justice would be undermined" if a convicted murderer were to be released pending appeal; a decision upheld in April by a three-justice panel.

In their application to the Supreme Court, Oland's defence lawyers argued he was a "model candidate" for interim release andhis case could "provide clear guidance" on when bail may be granted pending appeal.

No one convicted of murder in New Brunswick has ever been granted bail beforeand there have only been 34 such cases acrossCanada, according to the defence.

4 interveners to presentoral arguments

The Supreme Court has alsogranted intervener statusto the attorneys general ofOntario, British Columbia and Alberta and the Criminal Lawyers' Association (Ontario). This gives them an opportunity to weigh in on thepotentially precedence-settingmatter.

On Monday, the court ruled theinterveners will each be allowed to present oral arguments "not exceeding 10 minutes," in addition to their previously submitted written arguments.

The bail appealhearing is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. ET and will be livestreamed on the Supreme Court's website.

Ten seats in the Ottawa courtroomhave been reserved for Oland's supporters.

The body of Richard Oland, 69, was discovered lying face down in a pool of blood in his Saint John investment firm office on July 7, 2011. He had suffered 45 blows to his head neck and hands. No weapon was ever found.

His son, Dennis Oland, was the last known person to see him alive during a meeting at his office the night before.

A jury found him guilty of second-degree murder following a three-month trial in Saint John's Court of Queen's Bench.

The Court of Appeal quashed the verdict on Monday, saying the trial judge had erred in his instructions to the jury regarding Oland'sstatement to police about what he was wearing when he went to visit his father.

Oland said he was wearing a navy blazer, but video surveillance and witness testimony showed he was actually wearing a brown sports jacket, later found to have four small bloodstains on it and DNA matching his father's profile.

The brown Hugo Boss sports jacket had been taken to adry cleanerthe morningafter police told Oland he was a suspect in his father's death.

During the trial, the Crown arguedOlandhad "lied" about what he was wearing to mislead police, but the defence maintain it was an "innocent mistake."

"Significantly, the trial judge did not instruct the jurors that, even if they found [Oland's] erroneous statement was a lie, it had no probative value unless they concluded, on the basis of other evidence independent of that finding, that the lie was fabricated or concocted to conceal his involvement in the murder of his father," the appeal panel ruled.

Oland's family has stood by him from the beginning, maintaining his innocence.

"Once again he would to thank his family, friends and so many people in our community who have extended their support in one way or another," said family lawyer Bill Teed.

"This support has made the difference, in a very positive way, during these very trying times."