MONCTON, N.B. -- A judge has reserved decision on whether to exclude one of the people named in the lawsuit of a former New Brunswick man seeking more than $6 million in compensation for wrongful conviction and imprisonment.
Stephen Lakas, who now lives in Winnipeg, was convicted in Moncton, N.B., of sexual assault in 2010 and spent two years behind bars.
He claims there was evidence that supported his case, including telephone records, that his legal aid lawyer and others knew about but didn't present at his trial.
Lakas was released in June 2011 after an appeal was granted and a new trial ordered.
The Crown later withdrew the charge.
Lakas said after Friday's hearing it has been hard for him to find jobs because people see the headlines about his conviction on sexual assault but not the stories about his release and the charge being dropped.
He said after Friday's hearing that he's willing to stick with the lawsuit even if it takes years.
"This has ruined my life," he said outside court. "This is my life right now, this case."
None of the accusations in Lakas' statement of claim have been proven in court.
A lawyer for former legal aid lawyer Maurice Blanchard sought Friday to have his client dropped from the lawsuit, arguing the application from Lakas wasn't properly worded. Specifically, Blair Fraser said the application needed to include the words "not in good faith."
Judge Zoel Dionne could side with Fraser, rule against him, or let the lawyers for Lakas amend their application.
Blanchard is now a Crown prosecutor in the province.
Lakas' new lawyer, Brandon Forbes says the lawsuit could slowly drag through the courts for some time.
"Things like this are measured in years," he said outside the court. "Our main questions now are who, what where, when and why. And why did people have evidence that we're only just finding now?"
Lakas is also suing the New Brunswick Legal Aid Service Commission, the province, the RCMP and a member of the force, Crown Prosecutor Annie St. Jacques, the minister of justice and attorney general of Canada, and the woman who accused him of sexual assault. Her name is protected by a publication ban.
