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A case that caused national outrage and shone a light on systemic racism in the justice system is heading back to court on Monday, as the accused faces a charge in the death of Cindy Gladue for a second time.

Bradley Barton will be in an Edmonton courtroom facing a charge of manslaughter after the Supreme Court of Canada ordered a retrial in 2019. The Ontario trucker was previously acquitted on charges of manslaughter and first-degree murder after Gladue was found dead in a blood-smeared bathtub in Barton's hotel room in 2011.

The case has received international attention and been called potentially precedent-setting, because its outcome could have ramifications on a question that has never been clearly settled in a Canadian court: Can a person consent to sexual activity when there is an objective likelihood of serious harm or death.

The "rough sex" murder defence, or the idea a person could consent to sex so violent it would kill them, is a matter of dispute in courts globally, said Lise Gotell, a women's and gender studies professor at the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ who was involved in the first trial as an intervener in her role with the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund.

"It is absolutely central, but it's never been a question that has been settled by the Supreme Court, or indeed, by Parliament (in Canada)," Gotell said.

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