Ashley Smith inquest hearing date set

A hearing for the secondinquestinto the death of Ashley Smith will be held next month, according to the Ontario coroner's office.

Smith, 19, of Moncton, strangled herself with a piece of cloth in an Ontario prison cell in 2007 while guards looked on.

A previous inquest, started in May 2011, wascalled off nearly a year agoafter a series of problems.

Anyone who wants to apply for standing at the new inquest is invited to attend a hearing in Toronto on Sept. 20, Deputy Chief Coroner for Inquests, Dr. Bert Lauwers, stated in a release on Wednesday.

Dr. John Carlisle will preside as inquest coroner and Jocelyn Speyer will act as counsel to the coroner, said Lauwers.

The date for the inquest itself has not yet been set, officials said.

Jailed at age 13 forthrowing crab apples at a postal worker in New Brunswick, Smith was eventually transferred to an adult facility after she kept getting into trouble behind bars by constantly kicking, grabbing and spitting at guards.

Shewas transferred between federal facilities 17 times during the last 11 months of her life and was often kept in solitary confinement.

Smith was at the Grand Valley Institution for Women, a federal prison in Kitchener, when she asphyxiated herself.

An inquest is mandatory under the Coroners Act.

The first inquest was fraught with delays and legal challenges, including procedural wrangling about what evidence should be put before the jury.

The original coroner assigned the case, Dr. Bonita Porter, was removed last summer, reportedly because she couldn't complete the matter before her November retirement.

The inquest resumed in September under Dr. John Carlisle, but was adjourned again when Carlisle's jurisdiction was challenged by the lawyer for the Smith family.

Julian Falconer had argued the inquest should have started fresh under Carlisle instead of picking up where Porter left off.

There had already been six days of inquest hearings during which the jury heard testimony from witnesses, watched videos and heard motions.

Smith's family reached an out-of-court settlement in their $11-million wrongful death lawsuit against the Correctional Service of Canada in May 2011.

The Sept. 20 hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. ET at the Coroners Courts at 15 Grosvenor St.