Jian Ghomeshi’s sexual assault case will resume March 27 with a pretrial hearing, an off-the-record meeting between the defence, the prosecution and a judge.
Ghomeshi’s lawyer, Marie Henein, arrived without her client at the College Park courthouse Thursday morning.
Henein left the building quickly after a brief hearing without answering any questions from the media.
According to criminal law specialist Adam Weisburg, a judicial pretrial is a meeting with the defence lawyer, the crown attorney and a judge where they discuss time estimates, possible legal issues and confirm the way in which the client is going to plead. In this case, Henein has said that Ghomeshi is pleading not guilty to all charges.
“It’s really just a meeting to try to ensure that court time is used efficiently. Nothing will be decided usually at the judicial pre-trial in regards to guilt or innocence,” says Weisburg.
Ghomeshi’s lawyers appeared on his behalf at his last court date on Feb. 4, when defence counsel Danielle Robitaille said her team was waiting to receive Crown documents before setting a trial date.
Henein said in court Thursday they are still waiting for outstanding material.
The former CBC radio host faces seven sexual assault charges and one charge of overcoming resistance by choking. The offences are alleged to have occurred between 2002 and 2008. He was fired from his position after the allegations were brought to the CBC’s attention.
Ghomeshi previously denied these allegations through Facebook posts, stating that he engaged in rough but consensual sex.
His lawyer has previously said that he will plead not guilty to all charges.
Samantha graduated from the Ryerson School of Journalism in 2015.