Teacher charged with sexually assaulting student seeking a stay due to trial delay
The lawyer for former Calgary high school teacher Jason Selby will ask a judge to throw out the case because of unreasonable delay in finishing his trial.
Defence counsel Alain Hepner appeared in Calgary Court of Justice on Monday to indicate he's been instructed to make a socalled Jordan application that his client's charter right to a timely trial has been breached.
“I have instructions from the family, given the nature of the delays, to bring a Jordan application,” Hepner said, in citing the Supreme Court decision that sets specific guidelines for how long cases can take to be concluded.
“We're getting close to twice the Jordan deadline,” he told Justice Sean Dunnigan.
Selby's trial was to resume in June, but Crown prosecutor Rose Greenwood said the alleged victim, who still must be cross-examined by Hepner, has exams overseas during the week that was set.
Because Hepner doesn't wish to question the witness via CCTV, something Dunnigan was also against, the hearing can't continue until July 15. That's almost three full years from the date the original information charging Selby was sworn on July 23, 2021.
In the Jordan case, the Supreme Court said any delays beyond 18 months in lower courts, such as the Alberta Court of Justice, are deemed to be unreasonable pending exceptional circumstances.
Even trials in Court of King's Bench must take no longer than 30 months to be completed or be deemed to have violated an accused's charter rights.
In his charter motion filed last week, Hepner and co-counsel Jared Craig said even attributing some of the delay to the defence, Selby's case still meets the requirement set by the top court.
“Even were certain delays attributable to the defence for scheduling delay, the net delay significantly exceeds the 18-month Jordan ceiling,” said the charter motion.
It said the defence can be blamed for adding five months at most to the age of the case.
“Consequently, a stay must be issued,” it said. “This is the minimum remedy for a violation of s. 11(b) of the charter.”
Selby faces charges of sexual assault and sexual interference in connection with allegations he had sex with a student after her graduation in June 2018.
The woman testified earlier that she and Selby had an ongoing sexual relationship at that time.
They first had sex when she was about six weeks shy of her 18th birthday and Selby was 33 years old, and had been her teacher in the fall of 2017.