[2] NDP leader Dominic Cardy implied during a June interview that the Liberals were "trying to protect a political friend, already sitting as a judge, from being moved by Smith.
[3] The Law Society of New Brunswick and the Canadian Bar Association had taken positions favourable to Smith's cause by 4 July.
Also on that date, Smith's Freedom of Information request to obtain documents related to the identity of the drafters of the bill failed.
"[6] It was looking grim for Smith's gambit two months later; the head of the CSCJA noted that the judicial reference procedure is available in Canada only to executive branches of government.
[7] On 18 April, the Board of the CSCJA concurred with its head, and stated that Smith's request "is not an appropriate role for the association".