A sign points the direction at the Medicine Hat courthouse complex in January 2024.--News Photo
medicinehatnews.com@Medicine Hat News
The Court of King’s Bench schedule in Medicine Hat will change next month.
Monthly “Criminal Appearance Court” sessions will now be held on the second Wednesday of each month starting in February.
The change has been known for some time but was officially announced by the Alberta Court of King’s Bench on Wednesday.
The proceedings, which deal with pleas, trial scheduling, detention reviews and other applications for matters involving federal charges, had previously been held on the first Friday of the specific month.
There will be no session in January, but they will resume on Feb. 14, at 10 a.m., then be held in regular fashion going forward.
Kidnap charge stayed
A charge of kidnapping laid against a Medicine Hat man has been stayed before it proceeded to trial.
Crown prosecutors told Alberta Court of Justice in late November that it would stay the charge against Lester Roland Landry, 65, before a King’s Bench trial by judge and jury went ahead.
Medicine Hat police announced in late January 2023 that they charged the man after receiving a complaint from a women that he would not let her leave his vehicle after picking her up to perform casual work.
Prosecutors proceeded with the case as an indictable matter, which carried a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison upon conviction.
Staying a charge essentially suspends it, but gives prosectors the option of bringing back the charge within certain period of time.
