The court will hear police officer Doug Snelgrove's application to have his suspension from the RNC overturned this fall.
A full day, Sept. 16, has been set aside in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court in St. John's to hear arguments on the application. Snelgrove is asking for a judge to review the RNC's decision to suspend him without pay, with the goal of having that decision overruled.
Snelgrove, 41, was placed on administrative suspension in July 2015, pending completion of a public complaints process into an allegation by a 21-year-old woman that he sexually assaulted her while on duty the previous December. He was charged with sexual assault in connection with the complaint, but was found not guilty after a trial, during which he said the sex had been consensual.
The Crown appealed Snelgrove's acquittal and two of the three appeal court judges agreed the appeal should be allowed. Snelgrove has appealed that decision with the Supreme Court of Canada, which has not yet ruled.
In his application for a judicial review of his suspension, Snelgrove, who is living in the Middle East, says he should be reinstated because he was acquitted of sexual assault and is not a risk to the public or the RNC. He says his continued suspension without pay "severely impairs" his ability to support himself and his wife and is causing them "great hardship."
Then-RNC chief William Janes said after Snelgrove's acquittal that Snelgrove would remain on suspension until the public complaints process into the woman's allegation is completed and the "appropriate discipline has been determined."
Related stories:
Crown appeals Snelgrove verdict
Snelgrove found not guilty
