Latest news with #criminaltrial
CBC
a day ago
- Sport
- CBC
Is there a road back to the NHL for 5 ex-Hockey Canada players not guilty of sexual assault?
WARNING: This article references alleged sexual assault and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone impacted by it. When Carter Hart testified in his own defence in the London, Ont., sexual assault trial for the 26-year-old and four other players on the 2018 world junior hockey team, it appeared to be the first step in the rehabilitation of his career. The second step came immediately after the five were found not guilty last week — when Hart's lawyer said he had been willing to participate in a restorative justice process instead of a criminal trial. "He was willing to be publicly named and prepared to use his public platform to teach other athletes about how to ensure that their sexual encounters are responsible and thoughtful," Megan Savard said to media outside the courthouse after Justice Maria Carroccia handed down her decisions. "Mr. Hart regrets that it took a criminal trial for the truth to come out, but he has learned from the experience and he is committing to sharing what he has learnt with others in his personal circle and in his professional life," Savard said. What that professional life looks like depends on whether hockey's governing bodies, his peers and the public give him a second chance. Hart, Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote and Michael McLeod were all playing in the NHL before they were charged with one count each of sexual assault early in 2024: Hart was with the Philadelphia Flyers, McLeod and Foote were with the New Jersey Devils, and Dubé was with the Calgary Flames. Formenton, an Ottawa Senators draft pick, hadn't been in the NHL since 2022, after which he joined a Swiss team. None of their contracts were renewed after charges were laid early in 2024. All are unrestricted free agents with no ties to any teams. WATCH | E.M.'s lawyer says complainant in London hockey trial devastated by the rulings: 'The justice system must do better': E.M.'s lawyer after Hockey Canada trial 4 days ago All five former players with Canada's 2018 world junior hockey team have been found not guilty of sexual assault. The Crown will 'carefully review' Justice Maria Carroccia's decisions, but prosecutors say they won't have any further comments 'as this case is still within the appeal period.' McLeod was the only one of the five players facing more than one charge. He had also pleaded not guilty to being a party to the offence and was found not guilty of that count as well. According to the agreed facts in the case, the complainant, known in court as E.M. due to a standard publication ban, and McLeod initially had consensual sex in a room at the Delta hotel after they'd left Jack's bar. However, she testified she didn't consent to the sexual activity that happened after that. In his remarks to the media after court wrapped Thursday, McLeod's lawyer, David Humphrey, spoke of how the allegations impacted his client and the other accused. "The damage to Mr. McLeod's reputation and his career has been significant, but today's decision begins to restore what was very unfairly taken away from him," Humphrey said. Should they be allowed to play again? In the days since Carroccia decided the five men's fates from a legal perspective, there's been heated debate — in sports circles, among victims' advocates and on social media — about whether any of them should be allowed to resume their careers at the highest level. The players are all still not being allowed to participate in Hockey Canada-sanctioned events and programs. Hockey Canada, the national government body for amateur sport in the country, issued a statement late Thursday saying there's still an ongoing appeal to a decision about whether the five violated the organization's code of conduct. Results of that decision have not been made public and the appeal process was put on hold until after the criminal trial. Although the Hockey Canada ban doesn't impact their NHL status, it does mean they can't represent Canada at international tournaments like the Olympics or coach at lower levels. For now, the five also remain "ineligible" to play in the NHL, the league said in a statement, which also called the allegations and behaviour in this case "disturbing" and "unacceptable," even if not criminal. "We will be reviewing and considering the judge's findings. While we conduct that analysis and determine next steps, the players charged in this case are ineligible to play in the League," the statement said. When reached by CBC News, an NHL official couldn't say how long that review will take, but some have suggested the league may wait until the Crown's deadline to appeal passes at the end of August. NHLPA pushes for players to 'return to work' The NHL's collective bargaining agreement (CBA) says very little explicitly about off-ice conduct, especially compared to other major sports leagues. It does give league commissioner Gary Bettman broad powers to punish players "for conduct that is detrimental to the welfare of the League or the game of hockey." Players can also appeal disciplinary decisions to a neutral arbitrator, but that rarely happens for off-ice issues. The NHL Players' Association issued a statement late Thursday in reaction to the league's review of the case. The association maintains that since the players have been found not guilty, after missing more than a full season of their careers, "they should now have the opportunity to return to work." The NHLPA claims the NHL's declaration they are ineligible to play is inconsistent with the disciplinary procedures in the CBA, and says it will address this dispute with the league. WATCH | Carter Hart's lawyer says the not guilty findings are 'vindication': Lawyer for Carter Hart says trial's outcome was 'not just predictable, but predicted' 4 days ago Megan Savard said Thursday the decision in the Hockey Canada trial was vindication for her client, Carter Hart. She says her client would have been willing to engage in restorative justice process had it been offered, rather than go through what she called a distressing and unnecessary trial. The NHL doesn't have a formal personal conduct policy — as the NFL, MLB and NBA do — which means the league and teams handle cases individually, and the response depends on the severity of the offence, public reaction and whether the player still holds on-ice value. "Inevitably, we see teams make decisions based on skills and less on character and on personal attributes," said Ann Pegoraro, a professor of sports management at Guelph University in southern Ontario. For example, former L.A. Kings defenceman Slava Voynov was suspended by the NHL in 2014 after he was arrested on domestic violence charges. He later pleaded no contest to a misdemeanour charge, and was sentenced to jail time and probation. The Kings terminated his contract. The NHL lifted his suspension in 2019, but he has not returned to the league. Former Vancouver Canucks winger Jake Virtanen also hasn't returned, even after a jury found him not guilty of sexual assault in 2022. Mitchell Miller, a 2020 draft pick, was renounced by the Arizona Coyotes and released from the Boston Bruins after public outcry when it was revealed he bullied a Black classmate with developmental disabilities in middle school. In 2021, the Montreal Canadians were condemned for drafting Logan Mailloux, an 18-year-old defenceman who was fined for sharing sexually explicit photos of a woman without her consent. He is still playing and was traded to the St. Louis Blues earlier this month. What could come out of the reviews For the five players in the London case, they must await the outcomes of reviews by the NHL and Hockey Canada to see if they contravened conduct and ethics codes, which were initiated but then suspended while the criminal case was ongoing. "They can be disciplined because it brings the whole sport into potentially disrepute, and those codes cover that," said Richard McLaren, a professor at London's Western University who specializes in sports law. "So the fact that there's a clearance through the criminal system doesn't mean that that's a free ticket through the non-application close of contact and ethical behaviour." If hockey governing bodies conclude they violated such codes, the players could face lifetime suspensions, although any suspension "probably would be less than that," McLaren said. They could also be fined or other face other requirements, such as having to complete education programs related to sexual abuse and harassment. "So first they've got to clear those systems and see what the disciplinary bodies decide might be applied to them, and then they would be potentially available to play," McLaren said. Hart, a goalie, seen as most likely to return Of the five men who were on trial, Hart is being viewed as the player most likely to return to the NHL. While Canada was historically a powerhouse for elite goaltenders, there has been a decline in the number of homegrown goalies reaching the sport's highest level. According to a February 2025 article in the New York Times, the percentage of NHL games played by Canadian goalies has significantly decreased, from 73 per cent in 1995 to roughly 26 per cent in 2025. This past winter, Hart's name surfaced repeatedly as a potential goaltender on Team Canada at the 4-Nations Face-off tournament, which Canada won over the U.S. in February. With a shortage of goaltenders overall in the NHL, some sports analysts have suggested Hart could be on the ice within the next year, possibly with the Edmonton Oilers or the Senators, although neither team has acknowledged that possibility. "Carter Hart will play in the NHL. I have no doubt at all," Eric Macramalla, a TSN/Forbes Sports legal analyst and host, said on X on Thursday. He added in later interviews that Hart's decision to testify at the London trial will go a long way in the court of public opinion. Jake Tye, an NHL news reporter for the Hockey News and Yahoo Sports, agrees. "Carter Hart has already garnered interest from several NHL teams with one likely being the Oilers as the 26-year-old goaltender is from Alberta. Hard to say if he deserves a second chance or not but safe to say it looks like Hart will get one," he said on X. Sending the wrong message? Some advocates, however, are urging caution. Allison Forsyth is a former Canadian alpine skier who competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics and a sexual abuse survivor in a case involving Alpine Canada coach Bertrand Charest. Charest was found guilty of 37 sex-related charges, Forsyth became an advocate for safe sport, founding the group Generation Safe. "Just because people are found not guilty doesn't mean that bad things have not happened," she said, adding she doesn't think the five men in the London trial should be allowed to return to the NHL. "There is a sexual culture of hockey. I know it. I have had players disclose the past that they have had within hockey where very bad things have happened. And this [allowing them to be eligible for NHL play] will send a message that hockey condones this type of sexual culture." McLaren believes the potential for the five former world junior teammates' NHL return is there, particularly in the U.S., where there has been less public scrutiny and interest in their trial. Some American teams may take the risk if a player's skill level justifies it, she said. "There's been, I think, more tolerance towards people who have gone wrong being able to come back and play in sport than there perhaps was in the past, and that's probably partly because these disciplinary processes end up being made public and then a lot of people would say, 'Well, OK, they've paid whatever consequences there are,'" McLaren said. "There seems to be a willingness in certain clubs to do it more than others in terms of taking on what we might call problem players, or potentially problem players." Still, those clubs would have to weigh the impact on sponsors, the local community and the dynamic with other players in the dressing room, Pegoraro said. "I think the thing to remember is that while you can be found not guilty of criminal behaviour in court, it doesn't mean that you haven't displayed lack of decision-making or other moral insufficiencies. I think that that's probably what teams are going to grapple with."
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chaos over Alina Habba's status at the NJ attorney's office even has defendants confused
A man in New Jersey has claimed that his upcoming criminal trial would be unconstitutional, while Alina Habba is head of the U.S. Attorney's Office, saying she is 'unlawfully' in that role. An attorney for Julien Giraud Jr., who is facing trial August 4 for drug and firearm-related charges, says the case cannot move forward with Habba in charge because his client has the right to be prosecuted 'only by a duly authorized United States Attorney'. The motion is the first of its kind to challenge Habba's swift re-appointment to U.S. Attorney after her nomination fell apart. On Thursday evening, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi intervened after New Jersey's district court judges attempted to remove Habba from her temporary post in the state earlier in the week. 'Giraud Jr. has a constitutional right to be prosecuted only by a duly authorized United States Attorney. The illegitimacy of Ms. Habba's appointment undermines Giraud Jr.'s fundamental due process rights,' attorney Thomas Mirigliano, wrote in the legal memorandum filed Sunday. Mirigliano is asking the court to either withdraw the indictment against his client or prevent Habba, or any assistant U.S. attorney under her authority, from prosecuting the case. 'I got the idea over the weekend because my trial was imminent and I thought it was an important issue that needed to be litigated,' Mirigliano told POLITICO. Giraud Jr. is facing two charges, possession and intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl as well as possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He has pleaded not guilty to both Habba, who served as President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, was named Interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey in March, a position that she could only hold for 120 days without Senate confirmation. As her expiration date approached, and with no Senate confirmation hearing in sight, the state's judges took matters into their own hands on July 22 and selected First Assistant U.S. Attorney, Desiree Grace, to replace Habba. But the administration swooped in and carried out a legal maneuver that will ultimately allow Habba to remain. Bondi fired Grace while Trump rescinded Habba's nomination and instead named her Acting U.S. Attorney. Under that statute, Habba can remain in charge of the New Jersey attorney's office for at least 210 days. The Independent has asked the White House for comment. Giraud Jr's motion, initially filed with the federal judge overseeing his case in New Jersey, is being handled by a federal judge in Pennsylvania. Habba represented Trump at his New York fraud trial and New York defamation trial brought by E. Jean Carroll. Trump lost both cases.
The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Chaos over Alina Habba's status at the NJ attorney's office even has defendants confused
A man in New Jersey has claimed that his upcoming criminal trial would be unconstitutional, while Alina Habba is head of the U.S. Attorney's Office, saying she is 'unlawfully' in that role. An attorney for Julien Giraud Jr., who is facing trial August 4 for drug and firearm-related charges, says the case cannot move forward with Habba in charge because his client has the right to be prosecuted 'only by a duly authorized United States Attorney'. The motion is the first of its kind to challenge Habba's swift re-appointment to U.S. Attorney after her nomination fell apart. On Thursday evening, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi intervened after New Jersey's district court judges attempted to remove Habba from her temporary post in the state earlier in the week. 'Giraud Jr. has a constitutional right to be prosecuted only by a duly authorized United States Attorney. The illegitimacy of Ms. Habba's appointment undermines Giraud Jr.'s fundamental due process rights,' attorney Thomas Mirigliano, wrote in the legal memorandum filed Sunday. Mirigliano is asking the court to either withdraw the indictment against his client or prevent Habba, or any assistant U.S. attorney under her authority, from prosecuting the case. 'I got the idea over the weekend because my trial was imminent and I thought it was an important issue that needed to be litigated,' Mirigliano told POLITICO. Giraud Jr. is facing two charges, possession and intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl as well as possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He has pleaded not guilty to both Habba, who served as President Donald Trump 's personal lawyer, was named Interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey in March, a position that she could only hold for 120 days without Senate confirmation. As her expiration date approached, and with no Senate confirmation hearing in sight, the state's judges took matters into their own hands on July 22 and selected First Assistant U.S. Attorney, Desiree Grace, to replace Habba. But the administration swooped in and carried out a legal maneuver that will ultimately allow Habba to remain. Bondi fired Grace while Trump rescinded Habba's nomination and instead named her Acting U.S. Attorney. Under that statute, Habba can remain in charge of the New Jersey attorney's office for at least 210 days. The Independent has asked the White House for comment. Giraud Jr's motion, initially filed with the federal judge overseeing his case in New Jersey, is being handled by a federal judge in Pennsylvania. Habba represented Trump at his New York fraud trial and New York defamation trial brought by E. Jean Carroll. Trump lost both cases.
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
The trial of celebrity crocodile wrangler Matt Wright starts this week. Here's what we know
Three years ago, a helicopter carrying television personality Chris "Willow" Wilson and pilot Sebastian Robinson crashed in remote Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Mr Wilson, 34, was killed, leaving behind his wife, Danielle Wilson, and their two young children. Mr Robinson, who was 28 at the time, survived, but suffered permanent injuries. This week, the criminal trial of the victim's close friend and Outback Wrangler co-star, Matthew Wright, begins in the NT Supreme Court in Darwin. Mr Wright is facing three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice, in relation to the aftermath of the accident. The charges carry a maximum penalty of seven years in prison. Mr Wright first rose to stardom on National Geographic's Outback Wrangler — a TV program delving into the wild world of crocodile wrangling in the NT and giving a glimpse into Mr Wright's family life. A second program starring Mr Wright, Wild Croc Territory, aired on Netflix in 2022. The show was pulled from the platform following Mr Wilson's death. The 45-year-old father-of-two is also behind NT adventure tourism company Wild Territory, which offers helicopter rides, airboat tours and accommodation. The helicopter accident occurred on February 28, 2022, during a crocodile egg-collecting mission on the King River, west of Maningrida, in an isolated part of the Top End. Crocodile egg collecting involves a helicopter able to carry a crew member, or "sling person", who is lowered from the chopper via a long line to access crocodile nests. The three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice that Mr Wright is facing relate to events which allegedly occurred in the aftermath of the accident. Details about what the allegations include will not be revealed until later in the week, when the prosecution and the defence give their opening arguments before a jury. Mr Wright has previously denied any wrongdoing. No, Mr Wright has never formally entered a plea. This will happen on Monday when Mr Wright is arraigned — a court proceeding where an accused person has their charges read to them and is asked how they want to plea. They can respond "guilty" or "not guilty". The trial is expected to run for at least three weeks, but it won't start straight away. Mr Wright's legal team and the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) have requested a few days for legal argument before a jury is selected on Wednesday. The jury empanelment process can take a long time, so it's unlikely that any evidence will be heard until Thursday. Representing the DPP will be Melbourne silk Jason Gullaci SC. He has indicated that Mr Robinson is likely to be one of the first witnesses to give evidence at the trial. During a pre-trial hearing, Mr Gullaci said the Crown intended to call two witnesses to "set the scene" before Mr Robinson would be called. Mr Wright is being represented by prominent South Australian barrister David Edwardson KC and Luke Officer. The trial will be heard before Acting Justice Alan Blow. Mr Wilson's wife and parents have been granted permission to listen to the court proceedings from outside the courtroom via an audio-visual link. During a hearing earlier this month, Mr Gullaci told the judge Ms Wilson was invested in the proceedings but, due to delays in the trial getting underway, may not be able to attend court in person for the full three weeks.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Tornado Cash dev Roman Storm begins criminal trial with fight over chat records
The highly-anticipated criminal trial of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm began Monday with jury selection and an arcane dustup: Whether private messages and pictures furnished by Apple, X, and a venture capital firm are 'business records.' The wrangling over technical and legal minutiae could be a sign of things to come: Judge Katherine Polk Failla suggested Storm's trial could last four weeks — one fewer than the marathon trial of Sam Bankman-Fried in November 2023. Jurors in that trial found the shaggy-haired crypto mogul guilty of one of the largest financial frauds in US history. The stakes of Storm's trial are even higher, touching on free speech and the future of software development in the US, according to his supporters. The prosecution's case relies on a novel theory, they say: that by simply writing code, Storm conspired to help cybercriminals launder stolen crypto and evade US sanctions. 'Today, the target is Tornado Cash,' crypto advocacy firm DeFi Education Fund wrote in a summary of the case. 'But under such a sweeping interpretation, tomorrow it could be the developers of a VPN, an encrypted messaging app, or a peer-to-peer file sharing tool.' Prosecutors, in turn, have said Storm and co-founder Roman Semenov knew Tornado Cash was being used to launder dirty crypto and declined to take meaningful steps to stop cybercriminals from using the protocol. Dressed in a crisp, checkered shirt tucked into blue pants, Storm appeared upbeat on Monday, happily greeting supporters outside the cavernous courtroom in lower Manhattan. Hearsay Last week, attorneys for Storm asked the judge to bar prosecutors from introducing evidence furnished by X, Apple, and crypto venture capital firm Dragonfly, as well as evidence extracted from the phone of Alexey Pertsev, a Tornado Cash developer who is appealing a money laundering conviction in the Netherlands. Evidence extracted from Pertsev's phone included a Telegram message Storm received in March 2022: 'Would like to ask a few general questions about how one goes about cashing out 600 mil.' It was a reference to the $600 million hack of Axie Infinity, which authorities attributed to hackers affiliated with North Korea. The hackers laundered the stolen crypto through Tornado Cash, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors have said that message was authored by Pertsev, a fact that would suggest the Tornado Cash developers were, at the very least, unconcerned about the protocol potentially being used to launder dirty crypto. But Pertsev didn't send that message. It was authored by a reporter at CoinDesk, who had reached out to Pertsev for comment after the Axie hack. Pertsev then forwarded the message to Storm. But the way in which prosecutors formatted the evidence extracted from Pertsev's phone obfuscated the source of forwarded messages, according to Storm's attorneys. Storm's attorneys said the issue invalidated any supposed evidence gleaned from Pertsev's phone. 'Because of the sheer number of forwarded messages sprinkled throughout the Telegram messages, it is impossible to have confidence in these government exhibits,' they wrote on Friday. Storm's attorneys also said that other data extracted from Pertsev's phone was 'cherry-picked,' possibly excluding exculpatory evidence, and that it could have been tampered with, though there was no evidence to suggest this happened. But Failla, the judge, said she wouldn't entertain such remote hypotheticals. As for messages from Pertsev's phone, Failla said she believed the government would be able to authenticate the source of any forwarded messages shared during the trial. Storm's attorneys also attempted to block prosecutors from sharing images and messages they acquired after sending subpoenas to Apple, X, and Dragonfly. Prosecutors have said those images and messages are 'business records' exempt from laws barring the use of hearsay as evidence. Brian Klein, an attorney representing Storm, argued those images and messages were the property of users, rather than the businesses that stored them. But Judge Katherine Polk Failla appeared unconvinced. 'It's a point you're not making very well,' she told Klein after an extended back-and-forth. The defense team did notch a minor victory Monday morning when Failla said it could talk about standard practices among other crypto mixers. 'It's not an 'Everyone is doing it' defense, which would have troubled me,' the judge said. Cause célèbre Like other crypto mixers, Tornado Cash is software that cloaks the flow of crypto on the Ethereum blockchain. In 2022, the US sanctioned the protocol over its alleged role in helping North Korean hackers launder stolen crypto. In November, however, a federal appeals judge said the government had overstepped its authority when it first levied the sanctions. The Treasury Department removed the sanctions in March. In August 2023, prosecutors charged Storm and Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Semenov with conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and conspiracy to violate US sanctions. Semenov remains at large. Storm has raised more than $1.9 million for his defense, according to Donors include Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, RAI founder Ameen Soleimani, the Ethereum Foundation, and venture capital firm Paradigm. Paradigm, several crypto trade associations, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have submitted legal briefs in Storm's defense. Storm has said he faces up to 45 years in prison if he is found guilty, according to Aleks Gilbert is DL News' New York-based DeFi Correspondent. Reach out to him with tips at aleks@
