A judge declared a mistrial in an animal cruelty trial Tuesday after learning the Knutsford rancher charged with neglecting her pack of Great Danes hired his wife to fight her divorce.

Provincial court judge Stephen Harrison said he cannot preside over Carole Haughton’s trial since the woman hired his wife Marlene Harrison three years ago to represent her in her divorce proceedings.

Defence lawyer Peter Jensen told the court he learned of the business relationship between his client and the judge’s wife several weeks ago, just before the July 7 trial started.

“You didn’t think it was a problem then?” asked Harrison.

“I didn’t think it was a problem,” said Jensen. “That was probably very much my mistake.”

Harrison said regardless, it would be unwise — probably improper, even — for him to continue to hear the case, even through the trial was mostly over.

Prosecutor Alex Janse told the court she would not oppose a mistrial, even though she had adjourned the case from its last date until Tuesday in order to have the chance to make an argument why the trial should continue.

She said she changed her mind after discussion with senior Kamloops prosecutors, she said.

Harrison said it is unfortunate events unfolded as they did, but in the circumstances, he felt it best to end the trial and have it heard by a different judge.

It could take at least a year before a new court date can be arranged. In the meantime, Haughton will continue to be bound by bail conditions that prevent her from attending her ranch or caring for animals.

She currently lives with her son in his small North Shore apartment.

Kamloops lawyer Bill Sundhu, a former provincial court judge, said all judges would have made the same decision in Harrison’s position.

He said the perception of a conflict of interest is too great to be ignored.

“It’s the possibility that a conversation occurs between spouses,” said Sundhu. “As human beings we do go home and share our daily work experiences.”

Sundhu said he has no doubt Harrison would have been able to fairly and impartially judge the case, but it would have been open to either Haughton or the Crown to later raise the issue in an appeal.

“It just opens a can of worms if it’s appealed. It’s a perception of a possible conflict of interest,” he said.

The lengthy delay creates its own problems and could make it difficult for the Crown to prosecute the case against Haughton, Sundhu noted.

Regardless, the integrity of the justice system must be protected, even if it means some cases are lost along the way.

“It’s the price we must be prepared to pay, because the interest of justice requires impartiality. It’s a price we sometimes pay to protect the importance of that concept,” Sundhu said.

Haughton’s case will be back in court Sept. 23, when new dates will be fixed for her next trial.

Janse told The Daily News the Crown intends to continue the prosecution of the case, despite the postponement. The delay will not cause problems for the witnesses, she said, although it raises the possibility the defence will seek to have the charges dropped because too much time has passed.

Janse said if that happens, she will argue responsibility for the delay rests with Haughton’s lawyer, who was aware of the conflict long ago.

Haughton was charged with animal cruelty after SPCA investigators seized 28 Great Danes and several cats from her ranch in what they described as deplorable conditions.

rkoopmans@kamloopsnews.ca