Appeal court overturns sailor’s sex-assault conviction over fair-trial concerns
HALIFAX — A Halifax-area navy sailor convicted of sexually assaulting a woman he met over Facebook has won a new trial because of ineffective legal representation.
The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal overturned Paul Simpson’s conviction, saying his trial would not inspire public confidence in the criminal justice system — and noting the Crown itself conceded the appeal.
The appeal judges said Simpson’s lawyer, Laura McCarthy, did not appear to give effective, dedicated representation, noting she caused multiple delays and did not prepare him to testify.
“There was nothing complicated about this trial,” the three-judge panel said in its ruling.