Possibility of COVID-19 puts a hold on Bradley Barton's manslaughter trial
The Bradley Barton manslaughter jury trial came to an abrupt halt on Monday morning, when the proceedings were paused while the accused finds out if he has COVID-19.
Barton is accused of killing Cindy Gladue in June 2011. The retrial was ordered by the Supreme Court of Canada and was about to begin a third week of testimony in Edmonton Court of Queen's Bench.
Defence lawyer Dino Bottos told the court his client began to exhibit COVID-19 symptoms after court ended on Friday. He was tested Monday morning.
The jurors were notified early Sunday evening not to report to court until further notice.
A positive test result could delay the trial for two weeks or longer.
"If he's positive and symptomatic, I know that Alberta Health Services will give him guidance directly on how long the quarantine should last for," Justice Stephen Hillier said. "We've got to anticipate some risk that he may need hospitalization."
Bottos told the court that if Barton does test positive, he and all staff at his law firm would undergo testing for COVID-19.
"The worst case scenario would require my whole firm — lawyers, students and staff to be tested," Bottos told CBC News. "If that were the case, if one of us tested positive, then that would cause another at least 10-day delay before we could proceed.
If Barton's test comes back negative, the trial could resume as early as Thursday morning, according to Bottos and Hillier.
Bottos said his client was beginning to feel better on Monday morning as he copes with the dual stress of being on trial and illness.
"It is difficult," Bottos said. "He's having to relive and be prepared to retell a story that occurred over nine-and-a-half years ago. He's no longer 42. He's now 52 and that's going to be difficult."
The trial is scheduled to last up to seven weeks.
