Arguments Over Evidence Puts Duffy Trial On Pause Until Next Week

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 29 Apr, 2015 11:23 AM

OTTAWA — Mike Duffy's trial has been put on pause while lawyers argue over the admissibility of a Senate report.

Justice Charles Vaillancourt will hear arguments Monday in what is called a voir dire, basically a mini-trial within the main trial.

Donald Bayne, the suspended senator's lawyer, wants to treat a 2010 Senate committee report as fact during the course of the trial.

The report was based on an audit of senators' office expenditures and service contracts.

The Crown does not want the report treated as fact, but rather as opinion — an important distinction when the judge later reviews all the evidence laid out in the trial.

The unplanned break further delays the fraud, breach of trust and bribery trial, which is already expected to exceed its 41-day schedule by weeks.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Two accused in B.C. terror case plead not guilty at start of jury selection

VANCOUVER — Two people accused in what the RCMP described as a plot to blow up the British Columbia legislature have both pleaded not guilty in a Vancouver court.

Two accused in B.C. terror case plead not guilty at start of jury selection

B.C. Auditor General Says Prisons Crowded, Unsafe And Hardly Stop Repeat Crime

VICTORIA — British Columbia's prisons are overcrowded, tension-filled facilities that do little to prevent inmates from returning to crime when released.

B.C. Auditor General Says Prisons Crowded, Unsafe And Hardly Stop Repeat Crime

Homicide Investigators Called To Chilliwack To Probe Suspicious Death

Mounties say they were called to the scene of a car crash at around 11:00 p.m. Monday and found a man dead inside a vehicle.

Homicide Investigators Called To Chilliwack To Probe Suspicious Death

Road Warriors: Canucks Ready To Hit The Road After Disappointing Homestand

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks are about where Willie Desjardins expected them to be 40 games into his first season as an NHL head coach. How they got to this point is another matter entirely.