Chief Justice Martel Popescul will preside over the second-degree murder trial for Gerald Stanley, who is accused of killing of 22-year-old Colten Boushie.
Popescul was named chief justice of Saskatchewan’s Court of Queen’s Bench in 2011.
In Battleford, Sask., Monday, he oversaw the first day of voir dire hearings, meant to determine whether specific evidence is admissible during trial.
The evidence itself cannot be reported due to a publication ban.
Stanley entered the courtroom wearing a blue and grey checkered collared shirt and black pants. As he walked to the prisoner’s box, crying could be heard from where Boushie’s family was sitting.
As the courthouse emptied for lunch, one person shouted “justice for Colten.”
In August 2016, Boushie was in a vehicle that drove onto Stanley’s rural property near Biggar in the RM of Glenside. An altercation ensued and the man from the Red Pheasant First Nation was shot and killed.
Stanley has pleaded not guilty and is out on bail.
Boushie’s family has accused the RCMP of mistreatment the night they were informed of his death. An RCMP internal investigation cleared officers of wrongdoing.
Citing broken trust, Boushie’s family has also petitioned for an out-of-province Crown prosecutor and a lead investigator from outside Saskatchewan to take over the case.
The voir dire portion of the proceedings is scheduled for two weeks, but is expected to last just a few days.
Stanley is set to stand trial in January.