CHARLOTTETOWN, Prince Edward Is. — The lawyer for the man charged with smacking Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien in the face with a cream pie lost another bid Monday to force the prime minister to testify.
Jim Hornby, Evan Brown’s lawyer, told provincial court it would be difficult to mount a proper defense without the evidence of the victim and complainant in the case: Prime Minister Jean Chretien.
“It is very rare that the victim is not called to testify in an assault trial,” Hornby said during the trial’s opening day.
Hornby has been trying to get Chretien into court since shortly after the incident last summer when Brown, 24, walked up to the prime minister while he was glad-handing during a visit to Charlottetown and shoved a cream pie in his face.
Chretien wasn’t hurt, but he appeared shocked and angered by the attack. It immediately raised questions about his security.
Hornby told Judge John Douglas he has appealed an earlier court decision that quashed a subpoena ordering the prime minister to testify.
He asked the trial to be adjourned until the appeal court rules on the issue of Chretien’s testimony.
But the judge dismissed the request, saying it wasn’t necessary to hear from the prime minister, and adjourned the trial until Tuesday.
