When Richard Peck, the special prosecutor hired to study the case, advised that charges not be laid under the section of the Criminal Code that outlaws polygamy, Oppal asked lawyer Len Doust to review Peck’s findings. He ended up agreeing with Peck.

Oppal then named Terry Robertson as special prosecutor. It was on his recommendation that charges be laid that Blackmore and Oler were arrested. But Stromberg-Stein found Robertson’s appointment to be “unlawful” and therefore dismissed the charges.

B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell said he was “surprised and disappointed” by Stromberg-Stein’s decision. “It’s important to solve the issue,” he told the Sun. “The question is, how do you solve it? We’ll look at the ruling and we’ll decide what next steps we'll take.”

Peck had recommended that instead of laying charges, Oppal should first ask the B.C. Court of Appeal for its opinion on whether or not the section in question violated Charter protections of freedom of religion.