Vance Obstruction Of Justice Court Case Adjourned Until Next Month

Retired Gen. Jonathan Vance‘s obstruction of justice court case is being adjourned until next month.

The former chief of the defence staff did not appear on camera on Friday morning when a representative of his legal team addressed the civilian court for the first time about the charge, which was laid by military police earlier in the summer.

The representative of his legal team requested the case be put over to Oct. 15 at 8:30 a.m. ET, and notified the presiding judge that a judicial pre-trial has been scheduled for Oct. 6 between the Crown and defence lawyers.

READ MORE: Vance will not face military service charges; source cites his four-star rank

Vance stands accused of attempting to obstruct justice in connection with a military police investigation opened into allegations of inappropriate behaviour made against him and first reported by Global News in February.

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Military police laid the charge in the civilian court system on July 15 and on Aug. 6, military police closed down a parallel probe into whether Vance violated military code of service rules with the alleged inappropriate relationship, opting not to lay any charges.

When pressed for an explanation, a military police spokesperson pointed to a recent report from former Supreme Court of Canada justice Morris Fish, which warned it was “legally impossible” under the current rules to try someone of Vance’s rank in the military system.

A senior defence source confirmed to Global News the decision to end the investigation without any military code of service charges was specifically tied to Vance’s rank as a four-star general.