Man could lose right to jury trial
Prosecutor seeks trial by judge alone after failure to show up for court
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A man charged with sexual assault may lose his right to be tried by a jury of his peers after he failed to show up in court for the beginning of his trial May 25.
Kenneth Kendi, 50, is back in custody after an arrest warrant was issued for him. Kendi was charged in April of 2013 after a woman was allegedly sexually assaulted at her home. He elected to be tried in NWT Supreme Court in front of a judge and jury. The case was to have been heard by Judge Karan Shaner. Jury selection was to have begun Monday but dozens of potential jurors had to be sent home after Kendi failed to appear.
Crown prosecutor Alex Godfrey is now appealing to the court to deny Kendi the right for a jury trial and be tried by judge alone instead. The judge is expected to rule on that request once she hears more information from Kendi and his lawyer on exactly why he failed to appear in court Monday.
Kendi appeared in the prisoner's box in court Thursday. His lawyer Mike Martin told the court Kendi still wants to be tried by judge and jury.
"He will be seeking to establish a legitimate excuse for his absence on Monday," said Martin. "He has recently been involved in medical procedures and I need his medical file from Stanton Hospital in order to establish his excuse for missing court."
Godfrey pointed to section 598 of the Criminal Code of Canada, which essentially states the right to a jury trial can be taken away if a judge rules there was no legitimate excuse for the accused's failure to appear in court.
Anne Mould, director of court services for the Department of Justice, said 300 people had received summonses for jury duty for the trial. She could not say how many were actually at court and sent away after the trial was postponed.
Kendi will remain in custody at the North Slave Correctional Centre, at least until his next court appearance which is scheduled for Thursday.
There is a court-ordered publication ban on releasing any evidence on the case that could help identify the victim of the alleged sexual assault.
