New murder trial ordered because judge refused lawyer’s request to step down
TORONTO — A man convicted of killing his wife will get a new trial because his lawyer had wanted out of the case but the judge refused to allow him to step down, Ontario’s top court ruled Tuesday.
In its decision, the Court of Appeal found that Roger (Craig) Short, of Mooretown, Ont., may have been denied a fair trial because the judge forced his lawyer to stay on.
“The trial judge was obliged in the circumstances to remove trial counsel from the record. Instead, he required counsel to continue to act for the appellant at the trial,” the Appeal Court said in its ruling. “His ruling created the appearance of unfairness — regardless of whether it actually negatively impacted the conduct of the defence.”
As a result, the court quashed his first-degree murder conviction and ordered what will be Short’s third trial for the murder of his wife, Barbara Short, 48, in October 2008.