Sask. courts continue to wrestle with realities of COVID-19

Ron Pichesays it's just not the same.

The veteran Saskatoon defence lawyer says cross-examining a witness on a video screen, instead of standing metres away in person, undermines the trial process.

"The thrust and parry of trial work is all about instant responses, if you will.Rebuttals. Just the fluidity of the trial process,' he said in an interview.

Quizzing a witness on a TV screen is exactly what Piche had to do earlier this month at a preliminary hearing in Kindersley. It's a trend he hopes will end onceCOVID-19 is managed.

"The notion that more and more of these trials and preliminary inquiries are being conducted by videos is a fairly scary proposition," he said.

The case involves a Kindersley man named Vern Benjaminson. He's charged with impaired driving and driving over .08 causing death in connection with a Dec. 30, 2016, crash near Kindersley.

A preliminary hearing is where a judge decides whether there's enough evidence to go to trial. Benjaminson's hearing was scheduled for July 7 in Kindersley.

Prior to the hearing, the Crown applied to have two witnesses, one in Edmonton and the other in Moncton, testify by video.

The prosecutor cited the cost of air travel, car rentals and accommodation, but also the increased risk of COVID-19 exposure that comes with air travel, plus having to self-isolate for two weeks after the hearing.

Judge Robert Jackson granted the Crown request.

"Notwithstanding the seriousness of the charges, the Court is satisfiedthat the ability to elicit evidence will not be compromised if rendered by video, particularly since assessment of credibility is not required for the purposes of the preliminary hearing," Jackson wrote in his decision.

The hearing resumes Oct. 2.