2015 election

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday April 28, 2015

Duffy trial could go longer than expected, Judge Vaillancourt warns

The trial of suspended senator Mike Duffy may drag past its scheduled end date in June and on into the summer, the fall federal election campaign or even beyond into 2016.

“At the rate we’re going” the trial will need more than the 41 days set aside in April, May and June, Judge Charles Vaillancourt suggested Wednesday, urging lawyers to think about scheduling more time to finish.

“I don’t see us completing our task in the assigned number of days,” he said in court.

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By day’s end, as Vaillancourt left the Ottawa courthouse he was asked by reporters if he is confident the trial will wrap up before the expected fall election Oct. 19. He began to reply: “I haven’t — ” when another reporter interjected: “Or this year even?”

“No comment,” he said. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take because I don’t control the number of witnesses or how long it takes with each witness. So we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Vaillancourt said his schedule can always be rearranged, and he is prepared to come back to Ottawa from Toronto to deal with the case but it’s not clear whether other court resources, including the courtroom, and other key players are available. (Source: Toronto Star)

Reposted to National Newswatch and Yahoo Canada News.