"Shemesh told court that from 2024 to 2026, there were no revelations of anything new that complainants may have remembered. However, the lawyer added, from Jan. 13 to 28, new statements emerged from all of the complainants. Some of the new statements refer to pieces of evidence that were never referred to before, the defence lawyer said. "The thrust of my argument is that following a preparatory meeting, a statement arrives.""
"Justice Anne Molloy granted a request by defence lawyer Leora Shemesh to question a police officer in court about the notes he took in some of those preparatory meetings. After Shemesh and the Crown questioned the officer, Molloy granted Shemesh's request for trial proceedings to begin Feb. 12. They were originally slated to start Tuesday in the downtown Ontario Court of Justice, but were delayed until Thursday on the defence's request so Stronach's legal team could examine new disclosures that Shemesh said came in at the "eleventh hour.""
The start of the first sex assault trial for billionaire businessman Frank Stronach was stalled again as his lawyer argued in Toronto court that some complainants may have been coached during preparatory meetings with the Crown. Justice Anne Molloy granted defence lawyer Leora Shemesh permission to question Peel regional police officer Gabe Di Nardo in court about the notes he took in some of those preparatory meetings and allowed trial proceedings to begin Feb. 12. The trial was originally slated to start Tuesday but was delayed so the defence could examine new disclosures that Shemesh said arrived between Jan. 13 and 28, with new statements emerging from all complainants and mentioning previously unreferenced pieces of evidence. Shemesh described the last-minute disclosures as frustrating, suggested the timing allowed an inference of witness coaching, and said she plans to apply for a stay of proceedings at the end of the trial over abuse of process concerns.
Read at www.cbc.ca
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