The accused sought an adjournment of his trial scheduled for September 8-10, 2025, on a charge of sexual assault under s. 271 of the Criminal Code.
The accused's counsel sought to explore prior relationship evidence that might trigger a s. 276 application and to conduct a thorough review of the accused's cellphone, texts, and social media accounts.
The Crown opposed the adjournment, noting that the accused's counsel had ample opportunity to prepare and that the cellphone contained nothing relevant to s. 276.
The court granted the adjournment, finding that while counsel's conduct had resulted in unnecessary delay and wasted judicial resources, the accused's right to a fair trial and the potential for an appeal based on ineffective assistance of counsel justified the adjournment.
The accused waived s. 11(b) Charter rights and all delay to the new trial date was attributed to the defence.
