Judge dismisses jury in Canadian hockey sexual assault case after complaint about defense behavior WSOC TV [Video]

LONDON, Ontario — (AP) — The judge handling the trial of five Canadian hockey players accused of sexual assault dismissed the jury Friday after a complaint that defense attorneys were laughing at some of the jurors.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia will now handle the high-profile case on her own.

The issue arose Thursday after one of the jurors submitted a note indicating that several jury members felt they were being judged and laughed at by lawyers representing one of the accused as they came into the courtroom each day. The lawyers, Daniel Brown and Hilary Dudding, denied the allegation.

Carroccia said she had not seen any behavior that would cause her concern, but concluded the jury’s negative impression of the defense could impact their impartiality and was a problem that could not be remedied.

Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Carter Hart, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were charged with …