Sex conviction quashed; lawyer didn’t tell client about trial choices
TORONTO — A man convicted of sexually assaulting an acquaintance has won a new hearing because his lawyer didn’t tell him about his trial options.
Had he been properly advised, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled, Stephen Stark might have opted for a preliminary inquiry and trial in Superior Court rather than immediately face a provincial court judge alone — as he did in 2013.
“I find merit in the appellant’s argument that he was not given an adequate opportunity to consider electing his mode of trial,” Justice Peter Lauwers said in the decision.
“While there might be cases in which trial counsel’s failure to advise the accused person about the available modes of trial will not constitute a miscarriage of justice, this is not one of them.”