David Baazov is looking at using the right to a speedy trial to dodge charges of insider trading in a Canadian courtroom. Last week, word broke that the former CEO of Amaya Gaming’s attorneys asked a judge in Quebec to dismiss all charges against him be dismissed due to continued delays in getting the trial started.
Baazov’s attorneys actually filed the motion in the middle of October, but word of the effort only became public last week.
As of this writing, Baazov’s trial is set to begin on December 11. It seems highly unlikely that the trial will actually begin that day, given the fact that the hearing regarding delays is set to take place that same day.
The former CEO and online gaming industry legend’s original trial date was set for November 20, but that date was pushed back when Baazov’s attorneys asked for more time to review prosecution evidence. In particular, they pointed to the fact that weren’t given access to a hard drive containing more than 16 million pieces of potential evidence until September 21. According to a report on the Globe and Mail (subscription required) Baazov’s legal team said they would need at least a month to review the documents in question.
The debate over the speed of justice in Canada has taken on new meaning in the past couple of years since a Canadian Supreme Court ruling in 2016 that requires no more than 18 months between the filing of criminal charges and the start of the defendant’s trial.
The right to a speedy trial is one that Canadian courts are taking very seriously and it could work in Baazov’s favor. Since the ruling went into effect, more than 200 defendants have seen their charges dismissed thanks to the slow speed of taking cases to trial.