Whether or not he received such advice, he sure didn’t follow it.
From my uneducated reading of the article, the guy basically told him he, or rather the prosecution, didn’t have a case.
Be a shame if Canadian sealers mistook stooge Engmoron for a baby Harp seal...
Ex parte communications are a common way that judges get compromised. The clever way that it is done is via judicial colleagues not involved in the case. Most judges gossip and chatter among themselves like old women.