In Toronto, the jury at the trial of Jacob Hoggard resumed deliberations Saturday morning for the fifth consecutive day in the courthouse. He even asked the judge to leave his deliberations for good on the second consecutive day on Friday. in vain.
The jury has already reached a unanimous partial verdict, the nature of which has not yet been revealed, but it cannot reach another in some particular cases.
Jacob Hoggard, 37, was charged with inappropriate sexual touching of a minor and sexual assault causing bodily harm against both a teenage girl and an adult in 2016 in the Toronto area.
The jury has been deadlocked since Thursday because it failed to reach a unanimous verdict in one or three cases it has not identified.
The verdict he reached relates to one or more cases that he has not identified. Ontario Superior Court Judge Gillian Roberts has declined to hear the partial verdict so far.
The jury asked again on Friday afternoon to re-examine the testimony of the second complainant and the accused in the witness box.
The hearing on these recordings also resumed on Saturday morning.
The jury also requested on Saturday morning to also hear the testimony of the first complainant, which it did not request on Friday.
Resignation of magistrate
Surprising fact: the judge was also ready to throw in the towel for the first time on Friday.
Upon re -reading the instructions he gave Tuesday morning to the jury, however, we understand that he preferred to hold a second trial rather than hasty and therefore misjudgment.
The magistrate recalled that the jury was tired and it had worked hard since the deliberations began on Tuesday afternoon.
However, he told the jury to endure his first resignation on Thursday morning, telling him it was too early to give up.
The Crown and defense, however, prevented the judge from thanking the jury on Friday afternoon. The singer’s lawyer Megan Savard explained that to himno jury is better prepared than this to reach a verdict.
Crown prosecutor Jill Witkin shared the same view in court.
Me Savard said it was not uncommon at this stage for a jury to be deadlocked, given the questions he asked in court on Tuesday afternoon and Thursday about the credibility of the two women and the concept of consent.
It was too early to give up after only two full days of deliberation and only 3:30 in the afternoon.Me Witkin’s reward.
The judge feared in particular that the coming of the weekend would further discourage the jurors.
Resigned, so he explained to the jury that he needed to make new efforts. However, he told her, who gave them an olive branch, that he could rest the rest of the day at the hotel before resuming their discussions on Saturday.
We know you’re tired and tired, but please don’t think you have to finish it. [vendredi] nighthe told them.
You are not subject to any time limit for the performance of your dutyhe added.
The jury therefore refused a second time to suspend its discussions and asked instead to re-examine the two testimonies in question about the events on November 22, 2016 in Toronto.
An unresolved stalemate would lead to a second trial on allegations that were not upheld by the jury.
Source: Radio-Canada
