A Saint John courtroom has been told it could be more than a year until the second murder trial of Dennis Oland might begin.
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The 48-year-old Oland was not present in court as lawyers gathered for the purpose of setting a new trial date in connection with the July 2011 death of Oland’s father, well known Saint John businessman Richard Oland.
A jury found Dennis Oland guilty of second degree murder in December 2015. This past October the New Brunswick Court of Appeal quashed the conviction and ordered a new trial be held because of an error it says was made by Justice Jack Walsh in his instructions to the jury.
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On Monday, the defence asked for an adjournment because it had not yet received the Court of Appeal’s official decision, complete with written reasons.
Both sides can apply for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada and court was told they have 60 days in which to do so after receiving the decision from the appeal court.
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Justice Hugh McLellan of Court of Queen’s Bench set Jan. 3rd as a date when all sides come together again in hopes the situation will be more clear in terms of time frames for a new trial to move forward.
It was agreed, however, that it could a considerable amount of time before a second murder trial for Oland will get underway.
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Oland’s defence lawyer, Gary Miller, said it’s something that’s difficult to pinpoint.
“We haven’t heard anything from the Crown with regard to how they’re proceeding this time or if it’s going to be the same cast of witnesses or not,” Miller said. “We need to know all of that before we can set realistic trial dates”.
All sides agree it could be at least January 2018 until a new trial gets underway.
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Meanwhile, Oland remains free on bail and has been living with his family in Rothesay, N.B.