The jury trial for a criminal cartel case against mobility equipment provider Country Care and two employees is unlikely to start before next year due to restrictions on jury trials caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a judge has said.
A Federal Court judge has acknowledged concerns raised by the accused in a criminal cartel case against mobility equipment provider Country Care and two employees about how an upcoming jury trial will proceed if the coronavirus pandemic worsens, telling the parties the court had already taken measures to control the spread of the virus.
A six-week trial scheduled for February in a criminal cartel case against mobile equipment provider Country Care Group could be vacated a second time as lawyers for the defendants seek to appeal the judge’s planned directions to a jury in the groundbreaking case.
A six-week trial set to start in October in the cartel case against mobility equipment provider Country Care Group has been vacated and rescheduled to next year, as the judge overseeing the case quipped that he was either the “canary or the guinea pig” in the landmark criminal proceeding.
The Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions has told the Federal Court it will “very significantly” reduce the number of criminal charges laid against mobility equipment supplier Country Care Group as the landmark cartel case heads to trial in October.