Latest news with #Carroccia
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How a judge-alone trial may impact the Hockey Canada sexual assault case
Justice Maria Carroccia's decision to discharge the jurors in the case against five former world junior hockey players charged with sexually assaulting a woman in a London, Ont., hotel room in 2018 has raised legal questions about the future of the trial. On Friday, Carroccia decided the Superior Court trial, which began on April 25 with jury selection, would proceed as judge-alone, meaning Carroccia will determine the legal fate of the defendants. Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart and Michael McLeod — who all had NHL careers but are no longer in the league — have all pleaded not guilty. The sudden decision to discharge the jury came after a juror sent a note to the judge. It outlined concerns that two of the defence lawyers appeared to be whispering to each other and laughing at some of the jurors while they were entering the courtroom. Lawyers Dan Brown and Hilary Dudding, who represent Formenton, denied the accusations. Still, Carroccia determined the jury could no longer be impartial in rendering a verdict and discharged them. This is the second time the jury has been dismissed in this case. Last month, a mistrial was called, again as a result of a jury-lawyer issue. It set the stage for the current trial, which began last late month and resumes this morning. CBC News spoke to legal experts not associated with the world junior case to discuss the latest turn of events and what this may mean going forward. Should the judge have discharged the jury? Cassandra DeMelo, president of the London Criminal Lawyers' Association, said she believes Carroccia made the right call in deciding to proceed before the judge only, as the jury was showing clear disdain or lack of respect for the defence counsel. "I don't see how you could have continued with a jury after a comment like that about their alleged behaviour," DeMelo said. The Crown had initially proposed either a mistrial with a whole new jury or an inquiry of the jury. During an inquiry, the jurors would have been individually interviewed to determine whether they held any biases. But Toronto-based criminal defence lawyer Laura Metcalfe suggested it may not have even mattered whether those jurors could have set aside their strong resentment toward the lawyers in question. "I don't see how at the end of the day, if the verdict is unfavourable ... how they [the accused men] and their family members can feel like they had a fair trial," she said. Eventually, the Crown reluctantly agreed for a judge to hear the remainder of the trial alone. In part, the decision was made to avoid having to retry the case and submit the complainant — E.M., whose identity is protected under a standard publication ban — to another round of testimony that may "further traumatize" her. Could lawyers who denied ridiculing jurors still be disciplined? The Law Society of Ontario regulates lawyers and paralegals in the province. Any member of the public has the right to file a complaint with the society about a legal professional's behaviour. DeMelo said that in the world junior hockey case, any complaint would likely have to be made by someone with direct knowledge of the alleged incident — otherwise, it wouldn't likely get very far. "Someone with direct knowledge who was in the room — either a spectator, a juror, Crown counsel, the judge themselves — can make law society complaints. Lots of different people could make law society complaints who were in that room." WATCH | WARNING: This video contains disturbing details: Why London hockey trial's jury was dismissed: Metcalfe, however, said she doesn't believe the lawyers will face any action. "Would I be shocked if what occurred here was ever something that should be the subject of discipline? Yes, because I strongly believe that two senior counsels who are officers of the court, who have their reputation on the line are not going to mislead the court when they say [snickering at the jury] is not our intention." Will the Crown or defence change strategy? DeMelo said both the Crown and defence counsel will now likely be more to the point. "With juries, you really have to spell it out," she said. "With judges, you don't necessarily. It's going to benefit all the parties in that they get to just get to the point and maybe not belabour things so much to really drive it home." Because of that, the defence lawyers may also reconsider whether they still need to call certain witnesses, DeMelo added. "I could see theoretically one of these hockey players that were a colleague that weren't charged but were nearby — maybe they don't need to call them anymore. Maybe their evidence seems less important." Metcalfe added that from the defence lawyers' perspective, their closing arguments could possibly be shortened. "There will be a difference in how you communicate why there is reasonable doubt." They also would not need to take time to explain to the judge the presumption of innocence or the different rules assessing the evidence of complainants in a sexual assault trial, Metcalfe noted. Will the change to judge only affect the trial's length? There are various ways a judge-alone trial may save court time, thus shortening how long it takes to complete the trial. In a jury trial, jurors are often sent out of the courtroom for a time if Crown or defence lawyers need to argue a particular point of law that they don't believe jurors should be present to hear. In the hockey case, that is no longer a concern. WATCH | DeMelo said the trial will likely end up being shorter in other significant ways. For one, without a jury, there's less potential for delays in the proceedings because a juror may be sick or unable to attend on a particular day. Most substantively, DeMelo said, time could be saved at the end of the trial, when legal counsel and the judge normally address the members of the jury before they head out for deliberations. In the case of the judge, Carroccia won't have to detail instructions to jurors. Time may also be saved when it comes to the lawyers giving their closing submissions, DeMelo said, as they would be directed only at the judge.
Hamilton Spectator
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Jury dismissed. Hockey Canada trial to go judge-alone after jurors report being ‘made fun of' by defence lawyers
The high-profile Hockey Canada sexual assault trial will continue as a judge-alone trial after the jury was dismissed Friday following a complaint that multiple jurors felt that two defence lawyers appeared to be making fun of them. Following agreement by the Crown and defence, Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia will continue to hear the trial without a jury, meaning witnesses who have already testified — including the complainant who wrapped her testimony Wednesday after nine days on the stand — will not have to come back. Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé , Carter Hart, and Cal Foote, all members of the 2018 Canadian world junior championship team, have pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting the then-20-year-old woman in a room at the Delta Armouries hotel in London, Ont. in the early hours of June 19, 2018. Alex Formenton leaves the courthouse in London, Ont. on Friday, May 2, 2025 with his lawyers Daniel Brown, left, and Hilary Dudding, right. Carroccia said Friday that it was with 'reluctance' that she concluded the trial's fairness had been compromised, and the jury had to be discharged. 'My concern is that there is a possibility that several members of the jury harbour negative feelings about certain counsel that could potentially impact upon their ability to fairly decide this case,' Carroccia said in her ruling Friday. 'It is reasonable to conclude that in this situation, negative feelings about counsel and how they conduct themselves might impact the jury's perception of the accused. This would obviously compromise the fairness of the trial.' The shocking turn of events began Thursday morning as Carroccia came back into the courtroom following the recess, telling the lawyers she had received a note from one juror, which said that 'multiple jury members feel we are being judged and made fun of' by Formenton's lawyers, Daniel Brown and Hilary Dudding. The inside stories from the Hockey Canada sex assault case — including what caused that mistrial 'Every day when we enter the courtroom they observe us, whisper to each other, and turn to each other and laugh as if they are discussing our appearance,' said the note. 'This is unprofessional and unacceptable.' Brown said he was 'shocked and upset to be at the centre of this,' and was concerned with the jurors' impression. 'It's something I didn't do and I wanted the court to specifically know I did not do,' he told the judge in the jury's absence. Dudding echoed Brown's comments, saying 'It's a difficult thing to have this happen.' Carroccia said she herself hadn't noticed anything problematic when looking at the lawyers and their clients, otherwise she would have mentioned it. 'So I don't know where it's coming from,' she said, regarding the jurors' concerns. Brown suggested that daily protests happening outside the courthouse during the nine days the complainant testified, coupled with personal attacks on the defence lawyers on social media, may have 'affected the jury and perhaps led them to believe things that aren't accurate.' In a statement to media on Friday, Brown and Dudding said this was a 'regrettable development' as their client very much wanted to be judged by a jury of his peers. 'We, his counsel, found ourselves involved in the unusual chain of events that led to this outcome,' they said. 'No defence counsel would risk alienating a juror, and nothing could be further from the truth in this instance. While it is true that co-counsel will speak with one another from time to time during a trial, this is commonplace. The very idea of counsel making light of a juror is illogical and runs directly counter to our purpose and function.' Protestors outside the courthouse in London on Friday. The Crown had also wanted to continue with a jury, Cunningham told the judge on Friday. But given Carroccia's decision, the prosecution was left with two of what Cunningham described as 'undesirable options': press on with a judge-alone trial after having presented most of their case to a jury, or start over from scratch with a new jury. 'We quite obviously prefer the one that doesn't cause further harm, or doesn't further traumatize (the complainant),' Cunningham said. 'And so in light of Your Honour's ruling, the Crown will now consent to re-election and continue this case judge-alone in front of Your Honour, and we are prepared to continue with the evidence.' Carroccia thanked the jury for their service as she dismissed them Friday morning, and the trial immediately resumed before Carroccia, with player Tyler Steenbergen continuing his testimony about what he saw in the hotel room on June 19, 2018. 'I have determined in this case that it is appropriate to discharge the jury,' the judge told the jurors. 'I know that you have invested four weeks in this trial and certainly you have the thanks of myself, court staff, and counsel for the time and effort that you have put into this matter, but the jury will be discharged. So I thank you and you are free to go.' Dudding was also involved in the first trial resulting in a mistrial last month , after a juror at the first trial reported that Dudding spoke to her during the lunch break. Juror No. 4 also told other jurors about it, with one saying she thought the encounter was inappropriate. While there were conflicting reports about what was actually said between Dudding and Juror No. 4, Carroccia declared a mistrial last month after finding one or more jurors may now hold negative feelings toward the defence. In pushing for a second mistrial this week, Hart's lawyer Megan Savard said that the jurors' comments about being mocked 'is, if anything, a worse form of jury tainting against the defence than we saw the first time around. 'We know it's worse than last time.' In pushing for a mistrial on behalf of the five defence teams during legal arguments on Thursday, Savard said they were prepared to then select a judge-alone trial before Carroccia, so that the case could keep moving forward. While the defence was content with selecting a new jury last month after the first mistrial, this time things were different, Savard pointed out, as the complainant and a number of other witnesses had already testified. She said the negative belief that one or more members of the jury may hold toward some of the defence lawyers 'will attach to everyone on this side of the courtroom,' leading to an unfair trial for the five accused men. And she said she personally felt a 'chilling effect' after the jury's note was delivered; she pointed out that when the jury walked back into the courtroom Thursday afternoon, she and the rest of the defence lawyers looked straight at Carroccia rather than at the jury as they normally would. 'Every single one of us, I will say, was afraid to look at the jury,' she said. 'And so there's that sense, not just on behalf of counsel for Mr. Formenton, but on behalf of all of us, that we may be next if there is in fact this tendency to misinterpret innocuous conduct as nefarious.' Cunningham pushed to keep the jury, arguing instead to ask the jurors questions about the issue and determine who could remain impartial in judging the case. If enough impartial jurors were left out of the 14-person jury, Cunningham suggested the judge give them an instruction to put the issue out of their minds. As of Thursday afternoon, she said she wasn't prepared to consent to the case proceeding before Carroccia alone, saying the Crown had built its case knowing it was presenting to a jury, and would have done things differently had it been before a judge, though she didn't specify what. 'I know Your Honour has enough experience to know that the Crown's decision in this respect is not a personal reflection of anything,' she told Carroccia. Cunningham highlighted that the Crown was nearing the end of its case, having been presented to a jury, while the defence, should they choose to call any evidence, would get to present to a judge, 'which I think is a very different situation than presenting evidence to a jury,' she said. 'We fear that this would potentially cause prejudice to the Crown's case, to the Crown's ability to sort of conduct its case in a complete and fair manner,' Cunningham said. In her ruling Friday, Carroccia stopped short of declaring a mistrial, but nevertheless found that the jury should be discharged. She found that an inquiry of the jury would be insufficient to remedy the problem. 'It would be difficult to conduct an inquiry that would adequately address the issue raised without asking the jurors to reveal their opinion of that lawyer,' she said. 'To do so might impact trial fairness and exacerbate the situation rather than remedy it.' The Star's in-depth reporting of the trial After the first trial ended in a mistrial, the second trial began on April 28, with the Crown once again providing their opening statement. Aside from the complainant, whose identity is covered by a standard publication ban, the second jury had also heard from a London police detective testifying about surveillance footage and from players Taylor Raddysh and Boris Katchouk about what they saw when they were briefly in the hotel room. The complainant had met McLeod at Jack's Bar and returned to his hotel room where they had consensual sex, only for multiple men to come in afterward. During days of graphic testimony , the complainant alleged that the men laid a bedsheet on the floor and asked her to fondle herself on it, to perform oral sex on them as she was slapped and spat on, and to have vaginal intercourse. While she never said no nor physically resisted, the complainant testified that she went into 'autopilot' mode, as her mind separated from her body and she engaged in the sexual activity. She said she adopted a 'porn star persona' as a coping mechanism while in a room surrounded by men she didn't know and who should have known she wasn't consenting. The Crown has alleged that McLeod had intercourse with the complainant a second time in the hotel room's bathroom; that Formenton separately had intercourse with the complainant in the bathroom; that McLeod, Hart, and Dubé obtained oral sex from the woman; that Dubé slapped her naked buttocks, and that Foote did the splits over her head and his genitals 'grazed' her face. Before being dismissed on Friday, the jury had started hearing testimony from Steenbergen, who said he heard the woman demanding to have sex with players in the room, and witnessed Dube slap her naked buttocks and 'partially' saw Foote do the splits over her while she was on the ground.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jury Discharged, But Hockey Canada Sexual Assault Trial Will Continue By Judge Alone
The jury presiding over the sexual assault trial of five former members of Canada's 2018 world junior team was discharged. The presiding judge, Justice Maria Carroccia, told the jury the news in a London, Ont., courtroom Friday morning. "I have determined in this case that it is appropriate to discharge the jury,' Carroccia said to the jury. 'I know that you have invested four weeks in this trial. You have the thanks of myself, court staff and counsel. You are free to go.' The trial will move ahead without a jury and continue by judge alone, meaning that Carrocia, not a jury, will deliver the verdict. Following the ruling by Carroccia, the defense lawyers for Alex Formenton, Daniel Brown and Hilary Dudding, provided a joint statement to the media. 'This was a regrettable development for Mr. Formenton. He had very much wanted to be tried by a jury of his peers and has now lost that opportunity,' the statement said. 'We, his counsel, found ourselves involved in the unusual chain of events that led to this outcome. In short, a juror came to somehow believe that our courtroom demeanor was disrespectful of her. 'This was an unfortunate misinterpretation. No defense counsel would risk alienating a juror, and nothing could be further from the truth in this instance. While it is true that co-counsel will speak with one another from time to time during a trial, this is commonplace. The very idea of counsel making light of a juror is illogical and runs directly counter to our purpose and function.' The statement also said "perceptions and appearances play a central role in this trial" and that "if a single juror were prone to leap to unwarranted conclusions - and potentially impress these erroneous conclusions on their fellow jurors - the ends of justice and the right to a fair trial would be jeopardized." Brown and Dudding said they have full confidence that Carroccia will ensure a full and fair proceeding. This trial sees former NHL players Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Formenton, Dillon Dube and Cal Foote each facing charges of sexual assault in connection to a June 2018 incident in which a woman, referred to in court documents as E.M., alleges she was sexually assaulted in a London hotel room following a Hockey Canada gala. All five of the men have pleaded not guilty, with McLeod pleading not guilty to an additional charge of sexual assault as a party to the offense. This is the second time a jury was discharged in relation to this case. The first was when Carrioccia declared a mistrial on April 25, which required a new jury and trial. The trial is expected to continue for the remainder of Friday with the continuation of former 2018 world junior team member Tyler Steenbergen's Crown testimony.
Calgary Herald
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Jury dismissed in latest twist at Hockey Canada sexual assault trial
Article content A second jury has been dismissed and the case will be proceeding by judge alone at the sexual assault trial of five players from Canada's championship-winning 2018 world junior hockey team. Article content Ontario Superior Court of Justice Maria Carroccia discharged the jury without giving reasons Friday morning. Article content 'I know that you have invested four weeks in this trial. You have the thanks of myself, court staff and counsel,' Carroccia told the jury shortly after 10 a.m. 'You are free to go.' Article content Article content Michael McLeod, 27, Carter Hart, 26, Alex Formenton, 25, Dillon Dube, 26, and Cal Foote, 26, all of whom went on to pro careers including in the National Hockey League, have each pleaded not guilty to sexual assault stemming from events at the Delta Armouries hotel June 18 and 19, 2018, when the world championship team was in London for a Hockey Canada gala. Article content Article content The Crown has argued that the woman, then 20, went to the hotel with McLeod for consensual sex after meeting him at Jack's bar on Richmond Row. After the sex and unbeknownst to her, McLeod invited the men to the room for 'a three-way.' Article content The woman, whose name is protected by a publication ban, concluded her testimony at the trial earlier this week. During cross-examination, defence counsel suggested the woman was the aggressor, who wanted McLeod to invite the other men to the room for 'a wild night.' Article content Carroccia's decision to discharge the jury was made following legal arguments by the Crown and defence held without the presence of the jury on Thursday afternoon. The details of the arguments cannot be reported on. Article content
Global News
16-05-2025
- Global News
World juniors sex assault trial jury has been dismissed
The jury in the world juniors sexual assault trial has been dismissed. Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia's made the decision early Friday shortly after court proceedings got underway for the day. 'I have determined in this case that it is appropriate to discharge the jury,' Carroccia said to the jury, thanking the 14 members and dismissing them. Additional details can not yet be reported on. The jury had spent the past two-and-a-half weeks in a London, Ont., courtroom hearing the Crown's evidence in the case, including more than a week of testimony from the female complainant at the centre of the allegations against five former members of Canada's world junior hockey team. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube and Callan Foote have all pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault stemming from what the Crown alleges was non-consensual group sex in McLeod's room at the Delta hotel in London in June 2018. Story continues below advertisement The woman, whose identity is protected by a standard publication ban and is identified as E.M. in court documents, testified for two days before facing sometimes tense cross-examination from defence lawyers for each of the accused. She was allowed to finish testifying Wednesday. Former world juniors team member Tyler Steenbergen, who has not been charged, had been testifying for a second day Thursday when proceedings were halted. A mistrial was declared in late April just three days into proceedings. At that time, the Crown had presented its opening statement and had begun to lay out its evidence in the case. A trial for the case was expected to last eight weeks total.
