Kim Walker, seen in 2007, feared his daughter's life was at risk because she was addicted to morphine and living with a 24-year-old, court heard. (Karl Kopan/Yorkton News Review/Canadian Press)

A new trial has been ordered for a Yorkton, Sask., man sentenced in 2007 to life in prison for the death of his daughter's boyfriend.

On Wednesday, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal overturned the second-degree murder conviction of Kim Joseph Walker. The court said Queen's Bench Justice Jennifer Pritchard should not have held a private meeting with the Crown prosecutor and defence lawyer in the middle of the trial without the accused present.

The appeal court ruled that before Walker was convicted in the death of James Hayward, the judge violated a requirement of the Criminal Code that an accused person be present for the whole of his or her trial.

At the private meeting, the judge expressed her views about the case and asked the lawyers if they had looked at options for a plea bargain.

That violated Section 650 of the Criminal Code, the appeal court said.

The trial continued, and Walker was convicted by a jury and sentenced to life in prison with no eligibility for parole for 10 years.

He appealed, and on Wednesday the appeal court set aside the conviction and ordered a new trial.

Balfour Der, Walker's lawyer, said his client is happy with the decision.

"He doesn't feel that he's guilty of the offence," said Der. "At the same token, he understands it was a very tragic event for the young man who lost his life."

In a statement, the court said, "The criminal justice system cannot be perceived as being fair and impartial if judges are allowed to convene private, unrecorded meetings in mid-trial for the purpose of expressing their views about the substance of the proceedings and making inquiries about plea-bargaining."

During the 2007 trial, court heard that at the time of Hayward's death in 2003, Walker's daughter Jadah, then 16, was addicted to morphine and living with the 24-year-old.

Court heard Walker was worried his daughter's addiction was killing her, and according to a witness, he blamed Hayward.

On March 17, 2003, he went to Hayward's house. There was a confrontation and Walker shot Hayward five times with a .22-calibre handgun, killing him, court heard.