Lawyers for Douglas Hales have officially filed an appeal of his recent murder conviction.
The defence lawyers say much of what was presented at the trial is inadmissible evidence.
Hales was convicted last month of second-degree murder in the death of 25-year-old Daleen Bosse of Onion Lake Cree Nation.
The appeal is largely based on a recent Supreme Court ruling on Mr. Big undercover police sting operations.
In a Mr. Big operation, undercover police officers pose as a fictitious criminal organization in order to gain the trust of a target and eventually solicit a confession.
Canada’s highest court has ruled another Mr. Big operation used questionable methods of persuasion and threats in order to gain a confession.
In 2008, RCMP officers used a Mr. Big operation to obtain a murder confession out of Hales.
Defence lawyer Bob Hrycan says the Supreme Court ruling completely changes the nature of the evidence that was used to convict Hales at the trial.
“Under the new rules, the statements would be out unless the Crown was successful in arguing why they should go in,” he says. “Under the old rules, the statements were in unless the defence could argue why they should go out.”
He also says the trial judge should have allowed a psychiatric assessment of Hales.
“Based on the new rules, as laid out by the Supreme Court of Canada, the psychiatric vulnerability of the accused is paramount, under the new rules.”
Hrycan says it will likely not be until the end of the year when the court makes a decision on whether or not the appeal will move forward.
The high court ruling came down weeks after the Hales trial had wrapped up in June.