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Copy shots of Ashley Smith photographed at the law offices of Falconer Charney LLP in Toronto, March, 2009.Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail

Prisoner and youth advocacy groups are calling on the courts to overturn a sweeping gag order an Ontario coroner imposed ahead of an inquest into the death of a teenage prisoner.

They argue there are no state secrets involved in the case of Ashley Smith.

In an application for an urgent judicial review filed Friday, the groups say Deputy Chief Coroner Bonita Porter "exceeded her jurisdiction" in sealing documents before the hearing.

The application by the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies and the Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth also calls for a delay in the inquest into the suicide of Ms. Smith, 19, pending resolution of the dispute.

At issue is Dr. Porter's Sept. 1 order related to attempts by Ms. Smith's family and others to have the scope of the inquest broadened to consider relevant events outside Ontario.

The family argues Ms. Smith was transferred between federal institutions several times, perhaps to get around a rule that inmates be kept in solitary confinement for a maximum 60 days without a psychiatric assessment. A transfer resets that clock.

Ms. Smith choked herself with a strip of cloth at the Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener, Ont., in October, 2007.

"During the last 11 months of her life, Ms. Smith was transferred 17 times between three federal penitentiaries, two treatment facilities, two external hospitals, and one provincial correctional facility," the application states. "Nine of the moves were institutional transfers that occurred across four of the five [Correctional Service of Canada]regions."

The inquest under Dr. Porter is slated to start Nov. 1.

Earlier this year, Ms. Smith's family brought a formal motion seeking the expansion of the scope of the inquest while the provincial youth advocate sought documents related to the death.

The Elizabeth Fry societies backed both requests.

However, after concluding it was impossible to schedule a timely oral hearing on the three motions, Dr. Porter said the issues would be dealt with in writing and all submissions would sealed.

"Not all parties with standing have signed the undertaking required to obtain the copy of the confidential inquest brief, and motions materials may contain some of that confidential information," Dr. Porter stated.

A source familiar with the case called that a "pretense."

"Once the documents are filed on a motion in an inquest they become public," said the source, who requested anonymity in light of Dr. Porter's order. "The impact of the order is really to close the courtroom - to have the arguments kept private - rather than protect any documents."

The application before Ontario's Divisional Court argues the only valid reason to close a hearing would be for national security purposes. It also maintains Dr. Porter breached "principles of natural justice" by unilaterally issuing the gag order without first hearing any submissions from interested parties.

Ms. Smith spent the last four years of her life in custody before her death in Grandview, a secure facility.

This week, the federal prison ombudsman denounced the practice of locking up mentally ill offenders alone for long periods. He also concluded many of the same structures and policies that failed Ms. Smith remain in place.

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