Among the issues Talal Fouani’s new lawyer may consider pursuing is a Jordan application
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The city man who was badly injured and his wife was murdered when they were ambushed outside their home may seek a judicial stay of his criminal charges, his lawyer said Thursday.
Defence counsel Greg Dunn, who has taken over Talal Fouani’s file from his previous lawyer, told Justice Greg Stirling he is still reviewing his client’s case.
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Among the issues Dunn may consider pursuing is a so-called Jordan application, based on the Supreme Court case of that name, which says cases that take too long to proceed in court can result in judicial stays as a result of an accused’s right to a speedy trial being violated.
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“At the moment it was my view that Jordan’s potentially live and something that needs further inquiry,” he told the Calgary Court of Justice judge.
He said out of an abundance of caution, he and Crown prosecutor Shelley Tkatch have set aside a date in June if he decides to pursue an unreasonable delay application.
Dunn also said he and Tkatch have set aside two days in August for potential sentencing submissions on one of three charges Fouani faces.
Fouani pleaded guilty on March 17, 2023, to a money laundering charge, but then-lawyer Yoav Niv later announced an intention to apply to withdraw that admission.
Fouani also faces charges of possession of property obtained by crime and participating in a criminal organization.
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Dunn told Stirling he was abandoning several applications Niv said he would be making on behalf of the accused, including his bid to withdraw his guilty plea.
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The lawyer said he and Tkatch will attempt to draft a statement of agreed facts, but if they can’t evidence will have to be called for the prosecution to prove disputed facts.
Fouani was at liberty on his three charges when he and his wife, Nakita Baron, were ambushed outside their Evergreen Estates home on Aug. 18, 2022.
Fouani was backing his Bentley car out of their driveway when an assailant wearing a construction vest and walking a small dog approached the car and fired two shots into the interior, killing Baron and seriously wounding the city man.
Michael Tyrel Arnold is scheduled to face a four-week Calgary Court of King’s Bench jury trial beginning Oct. 1, on charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder.
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