The lawyer for serial killer Robert Pickton says if his client's second trial is delayed until after the appeal of his first conviction it could be 2011 or 2012 before his client faces the remaining 20 murder charges.
Peter Ritchie told a B.C. Supreme Court judge that such a delay would violate Pickton's constitutional rights to a speedy trial.
Crown lawyer Melissa Gillespie argued that an adjournment of the second trial was necessary because the appeal will have an impact on how a further trial will be conducted.
She told the court that if an appeal was underway while the second trial was ongoing it could create legal inconsistencies.
Attorney General Wally Oppal said last month that if Pickton's appeals on six counts of second-degree murder are rejected there will not be a second trial.
Both sides will be back in court April 8 for more arguments on the issue.
