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(UPDATE: Feb 21 @ 3:15 pm) The sexual assault case against former Kelowna mayor Colin Basran, continues to move through the courts.
Basran was not in attendance and neither was his high-profile defence lawyer, Richard Peck, for today's proceedings.
Lawyer Lydia Chu appeared on behalf of Peck.
The crown and defence are making arrangements to share evidence as they prepare for the case.
They'll be back in court April 4.
(UPDATE: Jan 24 @ 2:51 pm) The sexual assault case against former mayor Colin Basran has been adjourned until Feb 21 at 2:00 pm.
Appearing on behalf of Basran's lawyer, Richard Peck, counsel Lydia Chu requested four weeks for the defence to review material that's been handed over by the crown.
Special Prosecutor Brock Martland took the opportunity to re-iterate a publication ban that's in place forbidding any publication of information that could identify the complainant.
Basran was not in attendance and has yet to offer a plea in the case.
(Original story: Jan 24 @ 11:00 am) Former mayor Colin Basran has hired a high-profile lawyer to represent him in his sexual assault case.
In fact, Richard Peck is about as high-profile as you can get in the lawyering business in BC.
Colin Basran hires one of the leading criminal lawyers in Canada. Richard Peck will defend the former Kelowna mayor in his sexual assault case.
— KelownaNow (@KelownaNow) January 24, 2023
Today Basran's "first appearance" is scheduled for 2pm, but he's not actually expected to appear.
More info: https://t.co/30H0dOveAz pic.twitter.com/I8prdyj1mg
He's been referred to as the "Dean" of defence lawyers in the province.
He recently represented Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum, helping him beat charges of public mischief.
He led the team that represented Meng Wanzhou from Wahwei in her extradition case.
He successfully represented the accused 1985 Air India bombing suspect Ajaib Singh Bagri.
He has fought numerous significant cases at all judicial levels including the Supreme Court of Canada, and he's been hired by provinces to act as a special prosecutor in other high-profile cases.
The hiring of Peck says something about what we might expect in the case.
When asked if it makes sense to hire Richard Peck to enter a guilty plea, one of the regular duty counsel lawyers at the Kelowna Law Courts replied, "Nope. You could get one of us to do that."
Basran faces a single charge of sexual assault.
The alleged incident happened in Kelowna in May 2022 while Basran was still serving as mayor.
He served as mayor of Kelowna from 2014 until last October.
Today Basran's "first appearance" is scheduled for 2:00 pm, but he's not actually expected to appear.
It's more likely a lawyer will appear on his behalf to fix another date as the case moves forward.
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