The judge in the trial of Jean-François Malo, the real estate developer accused of attempted murder of a lawyer representing the Desjardins Movement, suddenly recused himself Thursday.
Instead of continuing the trial of Jean-François Malo Thursday afternoon, at the Longueuil courthouse, judge Christian Jarry read a letter in which he announced that he would recuse himself due to the appearance of bias, reports The Montreal Journalaccording to which the announcement caused surprise to both the Crown and the defense.
Jean-François Malo will therefore have to undergo a brand new trial next fall.
When a judge recuses himself, the trial must be aborted, and any evidence that has been presented must be presented again. The trial of Jean-François Malo was in its third week out of the four planned.
A trial well underway
The trial of Jean-François Malo opened on March 11. The 45-year-old man is accused, among other things, of trying to kill Nicholas Daudelin on March 26, 2020. The former lawyer representing Desjardins was recently appointed judge at the Court of Quebec.
Nicholas Daudelin and his wife were targeted by the bullets of two attackers who were allegedly engaged by Jean-François Malo.
Daouda Dieng and Cheikh Ahmed Tidiane Ndiaye were sentenced to 9 and 10 years in prison in mid-March for discharging a firearm at the residence. They were acquitted of attempted murder.
With Louis-Samuel Perron, The Press