KELOWNA – Crown Counsel has acquiesced to having a high-profile Kelowna murder trial heard by judge alone.
And that’s unusual says a veteran criminal defence lawyer.
“A murder trial has to be heard before a jury unless both the defence and Crown consent to go only with a Supreme Court judge,” says Grant Gray. “It’s done in limited circumstances.”
Three men are charged with first-degree murder and other offenses in the slaying of Red Scorpion gangster Jonathon Bacon in a hail of bullets outside the lobby of the Grand Hotel in August 2011.
A high-ranking member of the Hells Angels was seriously wounded and a member of the Independent Soldiers was slightly injured when the Porsche SUV they were in was sprayed with automatic weapons fire.
A woman passenger was paralyzed through most of her body when a bullet struck her neck, severing the spinal column.
The Criminal Justice Branch won’t say why prosecutors agreed to not having a jury.
“As the matter is before the court I can provide no information as to the specific circumstances relating to the exercise of the discretion of the Attorney General in this matter,” says CJB Communications Counsel Dan McLaughlin in an email response to Global Okanagan News inquiries.
The trial is scheduled to start next May and is estimated to run for ten months.
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“I suspect it’s because of the length of the trial,” says Gray. “Asking people to be available five days a week (for jury duty) for almost a year is a bit much.”
The Crown Counsel Policy Manual states: “Trial by jury allows public participation in the trial process and enhances public confidence in the administration of justice; however, in appropriate cases, trial by judge alone may lead to a more efficient and orderly trial process.”
Five prosecutors have been working on the case full-time for several years with another government lawyer providing additional support.
They are working separate from the Crown Counsel offices at the Kelowna Law Courts in an undisclosed location.
After the charges were laid a high-security court room was built and the cell blocks upgraded at a cost of about $4 million to accommodate the trial.
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