Despite the very public debacle of his first trial, expectations are that Jian Ghomeshi’s next trial for sex assault, will be very different from the first, which concluded with an acquittal for the disgraced CBC star and former host of Q on CBC Radio. In which way might his second trial, the one that is meant to be held in June, differ from the first? Daniel Lerner, who is currently a defence lawyer in Toronto, lends his opinion as a former Crown prosecutor in saying, “This trial is set in an entirely different context. It’s going to need a different defence strategy and a different type of prosecution.” Indira Stewart, a criminal defence attorney based in Toronto, declares that, “Everybody is going to be way more prepared, I expect it will be very different for the Crown, and they’ll take a different approach.” The general consensus being that, the first trial has given each side something they can learn from, and although this next verdict could come out in favour of either side, there are some concrete reasons as to why the course of this trial will be different.
The significant difference being here that, “A workplace relationship is usually very different from an intimate romantic relationship,” while “Sexual assault cases involving intimate partners are very often ‘he said, she said’ cases without impartial witnesses,” states Stewart. The assertions from the three witnesses in the first trial included, but were not limited to, secluded instances in Ghomeshi’s home, his car, and even on a bench in a park during the night. As a result of these events having taken place quite privately, there were no witnesses to substantiate the claims of the accusers.
Due to the nature of the second complaint, one of workplace sexual assault, added to the fact that it took place on official CBC grounds, radically opens up the possibility of witnesses who can validate the story. Also, due to the fact that the allegation was the question of an internal CBC investigation, the report’s conclusions would most likely have been handed over to the police, turning it into part of disclosure for the defence, reveals Lerner. He also mentions that, “There is room for the CBC to be drawn into this.”
In 2015, a CBC report concluded that Ghomeshi, “Subjected a female employee to unwanted physical contact that was sexual in nature.” Chances are that since the second trial will deal with conduct that occurred in the workplace, there is a decreased possibility of generating the sort of shock and awe that came along with his first trial. At this point in time, there is no way to discern what evidence could possibly come out at the next trial, but because of the way the first one was conducted, and the media coverage surrounding it, the complainant along with the Crown ought to be better prepared.
