Stephans ask court to pay all legal fees

COUPLE’S NECESSARIES OF LIFE RETRIAL TO BEGIN IN JANUARY

While a former southern Alberta couple convicted of failing to provide their young son with the necessaries of life look to the court to pay for a new trial, they also hope the court can help them pay for the first one.

David Stephan said Thursday during a hearing in Lethbridge Court of Queen’s Bench that he and his wife Collet are broke and can’t pay for a new trial, which the Supreme Court of Canada ordered following the couple’s successful appeal of their 2016 convictions. While they intend to submit a Rowbotham application, which would allow the judge to order Legal Aid coverage for the new trial, they want to apply to have all their fees associated with the first trial paid for, as well.

The couple was told Thursday to have their applications filed by their next court appearance Nov. 29, at which time the court may schedule a date for a judge to hear the applications.

The Stephans are also waiting to receive disclosure from the Crown’s office for their new trial, and are concerned about conditions the Crown has placed on releasing the information. Stephan said he is worried conditions attached to the disclosure will prevent him from sharing the information with expert witnesses or others who may be able to help him raise a proper defence.

A representative for the Crown told court disclosure is “ready to go,” but the Crown is concerned because Stephan is a regular blogger and could release the information on social media sites. That, he suggested, requires disclosure to include a trust condition.

Stephan also accuses the Crown and police of malfeasance, and reiterated his concern that some disclosure from the first trial was withheld, falsified and even destroyed.

“There’s not just a few pages, there’s a lot,” Stephan said.

The couple was found guilty following their original trial in 2016 of failing to provide the necessaries of life for their 19-month-old son Ezekiel, who died of meningitis in 2012.

Court was told the Stephans treated their toddler with homemade remedies and didn’t take him to see a doctor when he became ill. On the night that Ezekiel stopped breathing they called 911, but he died later in hospital. The couple testified they assumed their son had a minor illness, which they could treat themselves, and at times the treatments seemed to work and he appeared to recover.

David received a four-month sentence in jail, while Collet was given three months of house arrest.

In the Supreme Court’s ruling, Justice Michael Moldaver explained the trial judge did not properly instruct jurors and he quashed the convictions and ordered a new trial. The Stephans, who were tried by a judge and jury in 2016, have elected to be tried by judge alone.

The new trial is set to run for four weeks beginning June 3, 2019. Pretrial applications and a voir dire — which will be subject to a publication ban — are scheduled to be held Feb. 25 to March 8, 2019.

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