Trial of accused Fredericton shooter adjourned for the week
The murder trial of Matthew Raymond, who shot four people in Fredericton two years ago, has been adjourned until Monday.
Raymond, 50, has admitted to shooting Donnie Robichaud and Bobbie Lee Wright, then Fredericton constables Sara Burns and Robb Costello as they responded to a call of shots fired at 237 Brookside Dr. on Aug. 10, 2018.
Raymond's defence team is arguing he did not appreciate the nature or consequences of his actions and did not know what he was doing was wrong because of a mental illness.
Justice Larry Landry told the jury Friday morning that one of the lawyers involved in the trial has shown symptoms of COVID-19 and will have to be tested.
Court is adjourned until Monday.
"From what we hear, there's not transmission of COVID-19 in the community," he said. "This is season of cold and flues and we don't want to take risks … so we will hopefully get a negative result and be able to continue on Monday."
Court measures
Court is being held at the Fredericton Convention Centre, where the ballroom is big enough to allow for physical distancing among everyone attending. People in court are required to wear a community face mask until they're seated. All are seated two metres apart.
The court sheriffs or stenographers clean the witness box after each witness is done, and witnesses are asked to hover their hands over their choice of religious text when they're swearing in, instead pf placing their hands on it.
Ross Gorman, the director of courts in the southern region, said adjournments because of illness are not uncommon in a jury trial, especially one that takes more than just a few days.
He said having a jury trial during the pandemic is something the courts are still grappling with.
There are "guiding principles," he said, but it's still not clear exactly what might happen if a member of the jury, or one of the lawyers, or a judge, or even a witness tests positive.
"I'm not so certain we've figured it out," Gorman said. "We're figuring it out as it plays out on a day-by-day basis."
Twelve Crown witnesses testified this week, including seven people who lived at the apartment complex, and a Fredericton Police Force sergeant who was right behind Burns and Costello when they responded that morning.
Some family members of the victims have been attending the proceedings.
