Retrial for William Sandeson on 1st-degree murder charge set for 2023

A retrial in a high-profile Halifax murder case won't be held until January of 2023 as Nova Scotia courts struggle to work around restrictions imposed because of COVID-19.

William Sandeson is facing a second trial on a charge of first-degree murder in the August 2015 death of Taylor Samson. Sandeson was found guilty following a jury trial in 2017, but that conviction was overturned on appeal.

Lawyers for Sandeson and the Crown appeared in Nova Scotia Supreme Court Thursday morning by telephone to discuss scheduling the trial, which is expected to take 28 days.

"I have nothing in 2022 available," Associate Chief Justice Patrick Duncan told the lawyers.

They had already ruled out trying to hold the trial this year because they also have to deal with 17 days of pretrial motions on issues like the admissibility of statements and questions about search and seizure.

Sandeson's was one of several cases Duncan was dealing with Thursday. For months, he has been engaged in an intricate juggling act with lawyers to try to schedule trials in the midst of the pandemic.

There are currently no jury trials underway in Nova Scotia because of gathering limits. Other matters are being dealt with by phone or teleconference.

Jury trials

A specially constructed courthouse in the Burnside industrial park in Dartmouth, N.S., is to handle jury trials for the Halifax area. There are currently about 30 trials scheduled for that courthouse, Duncan said, with another 13 pending. Of those pending trials, seven involve people who are being held in custody awaiting their day in court.

Duncan said it is possible jury trials will eventually be able to resume in the main courthouse, the Law Courts, in downtown Halifax once pandemic restrictions are eased. But he said he currently cannot schedule trials as though the Law Courts were an option.

He urged lawyers on Thursday's call to be "aggressive" and "diligent" in trying to reach settlements to either reduce the time required for trials or eliminate the need for them altogether.

"Please try to get things resolved sooner, rather than later," Duncan said.

Two other murder trials were also scheduled during Thursday's call.

Owen Patrick Nelson is to go to trial in September. He's charged with second-degree murder in the death of Karen Lee MacKenzie in February 2018.

Devin Tyson Glasgow is going to trial in March 2023 on a charge of first-degree murder. He's charged in the death of Matthew Sudds in October 2013.