The upcoming sexual assault trial of former Saskatchewan Roughriders linebacker Trevis Smith could be delayed once again, after Smith's lawyer raised concerns Tuesday about his finances and her ability to properly prepare his defence.

Smith is charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault for allegedly having unprotected sex with women without telling them he has HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. He is also facing two charges for bail violations.

His case had originally been slated to go to trial in April, but Smith fired his lawyers on the day it was set to begin on the basis of "irreconcilable differences." He retained Giroux a short time later, and the October trial date was set.

Giroux sent a letter to Provincial Court Judge Kenn Bellerose last week asking the trial be adjourned to a later date, but Bellerose is away until Oct. 11 -- just days before the proceedings are set to begin.

Though she has no jurisdiction to delay the trial, Judge Carol Snell said Tuesday she didn't want Giroux's letter to go unanswered until Bellerose returns, and was prepared to listen to arguments and offer an opinion on whether the application may be granted.

Appearing by telephone on behalf of Giroux, Saverio DiOrio told Snell there are "a lot of good explanations and a lot of good reasons" to grant an adjournment, including that the Crown hasn't forwarded all of the necessary information, that the defence takes issue with some of the witnesses, that a defence expert has not yet been retained and that Smith's bail conditions were so strict his defence hasn't been able to prepare properly.

DiOrio said Smith is also having financial problems because he wasn't able to look for work until Bellerose relaxed his bail conditions earlier this month, and Smith may need legal aid.

Crown prosecutor Bill Burge opposed the request to delay the trial, saying the case is very sensitive to many of the Crown witnesses and "getting geared up twice would cause the complainants a great deal of anguish."

After listening to submissions from both sides, Snell said she didn't see anything that would justify changing the trial date, and advised both sides to be ready to proceed on schedule.

When told by DiOrio that Giroux is involved with a Hells Angels trial which may conflict with Smith's trial dates, Snell said she had "some concern and perhaps some frustration" at the suggestion Giroux would not be available.

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