When an accused withdraws instructions from legal representatives during a criminal trial, the trial judge must consider the reasons for the withdrawal and whether it was reasonable, not merely treat it as the accused's choice. Where the withdrawal is precipitated by a genuine conflict of interest on the part of the instructing solicitor — particularly one caused by the Crown's late service of witness statements — the accused's loss of representation may not be through fault on his or her part, and the trial may need to be terminated. Waiver of privilege by affected witnesses does not necessarily resolve a solicitor's conflict of interest.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 8 later cases that cite this judgment.
1 of the 8 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.