A new trial has been ordered for a Halifax cab driver who was acquitted of sexual assault in a case involving an intoxicated female passenger.

The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal released the decision Wednesday in the case of Bassam Al-Rawi. His trial attracted national attention after the judge declared in his oral decision that "clearly a drunk can consent."

Police said in 2015 that they found a woman unconscious in the back of Al-Rawi's taxi. She was naked from the waist down and Al-Rawi had his pants partly unzipped. The woman said she was sexually assaulted by Al-Rawi.   

Ultimately, provincial court Judge Gregory Lenehan acquitted Al-Rawi and ruled the Crown failed to prove no consent was given.  

The Crown appealed in November last year. 

More to come