Defence presents no witnesses, evidence in Daniel Bard's financial crimes trial
CBC
Daniel Bard's lawyer won't be calling any witnesses to testify in the alleged fraudster's defence, nor will he present any evidence.
Instead, Nelson Peters stood up briefly before a Moncton provincial court judge Thursday to say "the defence’s case is closed.”
It comes seven weeks into Bard's retrial on 19 charges, including fraud, theft and money laundering.
Local business owners have accused Bard of taking thousands of dollars from them in complex loans deals he described as non-recourse loans that would be refundable should the deals fail.
All of the alleged victims who testified in the retrial said Bard never delivered on promises on time, slowly cut communication with them, and never repaid them. Some of the charges date back to when Bard worked with an economic development agency in Moncton called 3+.
The trial has been on pause for the past two weeks because Peters was on vacation. The Crown closed its case on Feb. 17, after weeks of testimony from more than a dozen witnesses.
The defence's decision to close its case without calling evidence means Bard won't get the opportunity to testify in his own defence.
It's the Crown's duty to prove Bard is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The accused has the right not to present evidence and to stay silent during the trial.
Bard's first trial ended in a mistrial last June when his former lawyer withdrew for health reasons. That happened before his former lawyer ever got the chance to present his case.
When Judge Anne Richard asked for closing submissions to be filed, prosecutor Christopher Ryan said the Crown could file its arguments next week.
Peters told Richard he needed another five weeks to prepare his.
"That's awfully long," she told him.
She said it was especially long given that Peters has argued several times in the past that the trial has already taken too long.
She told Peters the issue of the timeliness of the trial has been "talked about ad nauseam."
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Daniel Bard's lawyer won't be calling any witnesses to testify in the alleged fraudster's defence, nor will he present any evidence.