The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia has removed a provincial court judge from a case and ordered the original matter to be heard by someone else.
Justice Cindy Bourgeois says in her decision that comments made by the provincial court judge showed a "reasonable apprehension of bias" in favour of one of the parties in the case.
Ms. Bourgeois says Robert Stroud refused to recuse himself after the defence lawyer cited comments he thought reflected a bias during hearings last March.
MS. Bourgeois says Mr. Stroud indicated in court that he had decided a jurisdictional question before hearing both sides of an argument.
Ralph Ripley, the lawyer who argued to have the judge recused, says he was unable to present his arguments when Stroud said he was convinced of the Crown's position.
Mr. Ripley says it's unusual to have a judge removed from a case this way and that they often recuse themselves if there is a perception of bias.