An accused murderer argues he is being treated unfairly when it comes to disclosure.

Travis Dennis, 22, appeared briefly in territorial court this morning with concerns that the Crown’s conditions for viewing his disclosure are prejudicial.

Dennis stands accused of murder and dismembering a body in relation to remains that were found in an industrial area near Watson Lake in July 2016.

Disclosure is a copy of the evidence that the Crown and police have collected to prosecute a case.

Crown prosecutor Eric Marcoux is asking that Dennis access his disclosure from a secured RCMP laptop with conditions including that he not copy, disseminate nor alter the material.

Marcoux is using the same order from the Yukon Supreme Court that was used for disclosure in the case of Mark McDiarmid, who was self-represented.

The order is due in part to concerns that the disclosure contains “sensitive material” that the Crown does not want shared with other inmates.

However Jennifer Cunningham, deputy counsel for Dennis, argued that this order is prejudicial, as he is not being treated like other Whitehorse Correctional Centre (WCC) inmates.

“Mr. Dennis’s position is that he should be treated like other prisoners at WCC,” she said.

She noted that the order used in the McDiarmid case was issued after there were allegations that disclosure was being shared.

Inmates at WCC normally access disclosure on a USB provided by the RCMP on WCC computers.

These computers do not have access to printing or the Internet. The Internet is also swept for material by WCC guards after inmates use the computers.

Justice Michael Cozens questioned the prejudice in this case, noting that Dennis is facing more serious charges than many inmates at WCC.

“He needs to be treated fairly and justly, and sometimes that’s differential and sometimes that’s the same,” he said.

Marcoux argued that the order also benefits Dennis in that he will have priority access to his own computer and not have to wait in line for shared WCC computers.

He is also concerned as Dennis is still unrepresented on the charges, and would prefer the disclosure be dealt with in open court through an independent third party.

“I cannot deal with Mr. Dennis myself as the Crown,” he said.

Dennis fired his appointed legal aid counsel in December, and plans to hire Anik Morrow as his defence lawyer.

However, Morrow rejected legal aid’s financial offer and is currently appealing their decision.

“This frankly seems to be an argument more of principle,” Justice Cozens said of the argument over disclosure.

He has asked for written confirmation from WCC that officials there agree to the conditions in the Crown’s order and what their normal procedures are, before he makes his decision.

Dennis will appear in person for this decision at 2 p.m. Friday.