2 weeks Ago By Jonny Wakefield
Article content The man accused of murdering two men in Edmonton’s Chinatown might not see trial until 2026 as he continues to waffle on which lawyer he wants representing him. Justin Bone appeared before the Court of King’s Bench Friday to determine a path forward for his trial in the deaths of Hung Trang and Ban Phuc Hoang, who were beaten to death in Chinatown on May 18, 2022. Bone was originally set to hire a new defence lawyer, Rory Ziv, who would be his fifth legal counsel.
Instead, Bone expressed misgivings. “Our first meeting did not go well,” said Bone from a CCTV cell at the Edmonton Remand Centre. Ziv asked for a two-week adjournment.
He is meeting with Bone again on Friday and said “sometimes it does take time to build up a rapport with a potential client.” Bone has parted ways with four previous lawyers over what he says are differences in how they plan to run the trial. During pre-trial proceedings, Bone has raised his mental state and intoxication at the time of the killings as possible defences, as well as the fact he was dropped in Edmonton by RCMP despite court orders not to be in the city.
Most recently, he planned to file a Fisher application, a legal manoeuvre that allows a judge to order private counsel be funded at rates above those offered by Legal Aid. He wanted to hire defence lawyer Tom Engel, who no longer takes legal aid clients. Bone said Friday that he had abandoned that application, but raised the possibility of trying again.
To be successful, he would have to prove that Engel is the only lawyer who can ensure he receives a fair trial. ‘The only thing to do’ Friday’s hearing ended with Justice John Henderson cancelling Bone’s current trial dates, set to begin with jury selection Oct. 10.
Henderson said that even if Bone hires Ziv, Ziv is unavailable for the October dates and would need an adjournment to get up to speed on the case. Lawyer Zachary al-Khatib also said he would advise an adjournment. Al-Khatib has been appointed as amicus curiae, a lawyer appointed as a “friend of the court” to assist in difficult files, oftentimes involving self-represented accused.
Al-Khatib said that Bone’s proposed defence would require expert witnesses to assess his mental health and other issues. None of those experts were available to conduct the analyses before Oct. 10, he said.
Anders Quist, the Crown, said prosecutors are ready to present their case in October, but acknowledged “it seems abundantly clear this trial could not proceed” given the disarray on the defence side. Henderson reluctantly cancelled the October trial dates. He admitted doing so was “problematic,” given the soonest available dates are “late 2025, early 2026.
” “It seems it’s the only thing to do,” he said of the delay. Another lawyer in the courtroom said four weeks would soon open up in April 2025, though Bone or his lawyer would first need to agree to those dates. Defendants are given considerable leeway to hire and fire lawyers, given the risk of a verdict in which they were forced to self-represent or hire a lawyer with whom they disagree might be overturned on appeal.
Judges may eventually put their foot down, however. That happened in the murder trial of Beryl Musila, who went through half a dozen lawyers before ultimately going to trial as a self-represented accused. Bone has said he does not wish to represent himself.
His case is next in court Oct. 4. jwakefield@postmedia.
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