Lawyer admits it might take months for Supreme Court to hear Pickton appeal

Robert Pickton's lawyer said his legal team will appeal his six second-degree murder convictions to the Supreme Court of Canada – admitting it might take months, or even years, for the case to make its way through the court.

The B.C. Court of Appeal upheld his conviction on six counts of murder on Thursday, following a failed appeal, but Pickton and his lawyers are now going to ask Canada's highest court whether the 60-year-old pig farmer received a fair trial.

Patrick McGowan, Pickton's lawyer, said the Supreme Court can only hear a limited number of cases, and they already have a good number lined up.

"I expect just speaking generally it's not at all unusual for appeals if they do proceed to the Supreme Court of Canada to take a number of months, sometimes up to a year or more," said McGowan.

The B.C. Court reached a split decision with two judges supporting the conviction and one opposing it, giving him the automatic right to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

McGowan said Friday the new appeal will be based on the dissenting judgment.

"The next step is the filing of a notice of appeal. I can confirm there will be a notice of appeal filed," McGowan said in an email.

Pickton was charged with the first-degree murder of 26 women who went missing from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, but he was only tried on six cases.

The B.C. Court of Appeal also ruled Thursday that if the Supreme Court of Canada orders a new trial, Pickton should be tried on all 26 charges.