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New trial in boyfriend killing case
REGINA, Saskatchewan, (UPI) -- An appeals court granted a new trial Wednesday to a Canadian man convicted of the second-degree murder of his daughter's boyfriend.
The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal found that a private meeting between trial judge Jennifer Pritchard and lawyers, at which the judge aired her view of Kim Walker's defense, was a "fatal error," The Regina Herald-Leader reported. The court found Pritchard, by holding two private meetings, violated a rule the defendant must be present for the entire trial.
"If the criminal justice system is to be perceived as being fair and impartial, judges cannot convene private and unrecorded meetings in mid-trial for the purpose of expressing their views about the substance of the proceedings and making inquiries about plea bargaining," the court said in its opinion.
Walker, who lived in Yorkton, a town of 15,000 in southeastern Saskatchewan, had been at odds with James Hayward before the shooting in 2003, believing Hayward had hooked his daughter on drugs. He was convicted by a jury in 2007 and given a life sentence with a minimum of 10 years without parole.
REGINA, Saskatchewan, (UPI) -- An appeals court granted a new trial Wednesday to a Canadian man convicted of the second-degree murder of his daughter's boyfriend.
The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal found that a private meeting between trial judge Jennifer Pritchard and lawyers, at which the judge aired her view of Kim Walker's defense, was a "fatal error," The Regina Herald-Leader reported. The court found Pritchard, by holding two private meetings, violated a rule the defendant must be present for the entire trial.
"If the criminal justice system is to be perceived as being fair and impartial, judges cannot convene private and unrecorded meetings in mid-trial for the purpose of expressing their views about the substance of the proceedings and making inquiries about plea bargaining," the court said in its opinion.
Walker, who lived in Yorkton, a town of 15,000 in southeastern Saskatchewan, had been at odds with James Hayward before the shooting in 2003, believing Hayward had hooked his daughter on drugs. He was convicted by a jury in 2007 and given a life sentence with a minimum of 10 years without parole.