A magistrate has turned down a request by Roderick Cassar to suspend his ongoing murder case until his constitutional challenge to a femicide law is settled.

Magistrate Anne Marie Thake noted that, at this stage of the proceedings, the court was gathering evidence and would not be deciding on the merits of the case. She also noted that there was no decision, at this stage, by the constitutional court to stop the criminal proceedings against Cassar. For this reason, she turned down his request.

Cassar stands accused of murdering his estranged wife, Bernice Cassar in what was the first case falling within the parameters of a new femicide law. He is pleading not guilty but has also challenged the validity of legal amendments that aggravate the crime if committed with femicidal intent.  

Bernice Cassar was assaulted and shot outside her workplace in November 2022. The 40-year-old mother-of-two died on the spot. She had filed multiple police reports against her ex-husband before she was shot dead.

Days before she was killed, her lawyer pleaded with the police to take action against her ex-husband for breaching a protection order.

Proceedings against Cassar are at compilation stage before the Magistrates’ Court and a bill of indictment is expected in the near future. The bill of indictment would pave the path to the accused’s trial.

Pending the murder proceedings, Cassar’s lawyers filed a separate case before the First Hall, Civil Court in its constitutional jurisdiction claiming that the recent amendments introducing the concept of femicide as an aggravating factor of wilful homicide, breached the accused’s fundamental rights.

They are arguing that the new law did not only introduce the notion of femicide but also did away with the plea of "sudden passion".

Once the murder qualified as femicide, that mitigating factor was “categorically excluded” even if it was proved that the accused acted under sudden passion or was in a state of mental agitation.

Cassar’s lawyers are arguing that the new law was highly discriminatory, sexist and totally counter productive and breached the accused’s right to a fair hearing.

In their application for an interim measure, the lawyers argued that the outcome of the constitutional case undoubtedly impacted the outcome of the murder proceedings.

For that reason it would be wise at this advanced stage of the criminal process to stay (suspend) those proceedings until the constitutional proceedings ran their full course.

The prosecution argued that this was a measure to delay proceeding unnecessarily, to which the defence replied that it had the right to legally challenge a new law.

The magistrate, who took over the case from Magistrate Joe Mifsud, said she will not hear the evidence from scratch but rely on the evidence gathered and recorded by Magistrate Mifsud who was assigned other duties.

Lawyers Franco Debono, Arthur Azzopardi, Marion Camilleri and Jacob Magri are assisting Cassar.

The prosecution was led by AG lawyers Angele Vella and Darlene Grima with Inspectors Wayne Camilleri, Shaun Pawney and Paul Camilleri. 

Lawyers Marita Pace Dimech, Ann Marie Cutajar and Stefano Filletti are appearing on behalf of the victim’s family who intervened in the proceedings.