Nelson Hart wants to rehire former lawyer

Nelson Hart wants his old lawyer back.

In 2007, Hart was convicted of murder in the drowning deaths of his twin daughters in Gander Lake.

But two weeks ago that conviction was overturned by the Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court of Appeal, which also ordered a new trial.

Lawyer Rosellen Sullivan played a key role in securing that decision before the two parted ways.

But now Hart wants her back to argue for his release while the Crown ponders its next move.

On his behalf, she has applied to the Appeals Division of the Supreme Court to be allowed back on the case.

Two weeks ago, a three-judge panel of the same court unanimously decided Hart should have been allowed to testify in private at his trial, because of his tendency toward epileptic seizures and the stress of thinking and speaking clearly with many people around him.

And in a 2-1 decision, the court ruled that confessions obtained from Hart by police in a so-called “Mr. Big” sting were obtained by improper coercion and inducements, breaching Hart’s Charter rights.

The court ruled the confessions should not have been admitted at trial.