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Many criminal defence lawyers, crown counsel, justices, and court staff in Ontario have been subject to the delay and difficulty caused by the system of maintaining information on paper. This outdated method is in dire need of modernization, like organizing them in a computer database.
In Canada, Information identifies the charges that an accused person is facing under the Criminal Code, either by summary or by indictment. The Information contains an allegation that an offence or offences have been committed by the accused. This vital document spells out the charge or charges, along with past and future court dates for the accused, all on just a few pieces of paper.
If Information is not present in court on the date that the accused's matter is before the court, the matter cannot be heard, leading to unnecessary delays and inefficiency in the court proceedings. The impact of these setbacks could be greatly reduced if the information were organized and made easily accessible on a computer database, instead of being trapped on physical paper.
The system of maintaining paper Information is undeniably archaic and is solely responsible for significantly slowing down the criminal court process.
Delays have turned into a pressing issue for people facing criminal offence charges. The importance of this was highlighted after the Supreme Court of Canada’s 2016 ruling R v. Jordan.
With the ruling in this case, the Supreme Court set strict timelines to bring criminal cases to trial - 18 months in provincial court and 30 months in Superior Court. If a case of an accused person is delayed as a result of the Crown or Court beyond the time limits set out in Jordan, it is considered a violation of the accused's legal right to be tried within a reasonable time.
This right is guaranteed under Section 11(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which states that any person charged with an offence has the right to be tried within a reasonable time.
Any violation of rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms can cause criminal offence charges against an accused stay. A Stay of Proceedings is the most drastic remedy available to a court. As the Supreme Court of Canada stated: "Charges that are stayed may never be prosecuted; an alleged victim will never get his or her day in court; society will never have the matter resolved by a trier of fact. For these reasons, a stay is reserved for only those cases of abuse where a very high threshold is met."
Therefore, in a case involving an 11(b) violation, the accused must have a skilled criminal defence lawyer to demonstrate that the delay in their case was due to the fault of the crown or the court, rather than any fault of the accused.
In order to combat these issues, modernization efforts are crucial and would improve delays in remand courts significantly. These efforts would go beyond just reorganizing information into a database instead of relying on physical paper documents.
The responsibility to ensure this modernization lies with the Ontario Provincial government. As the body responsible for funding the courts, the Ontario Provincial government would be in charge of any changes made to the system.
The Criminal Lawyers Association has been a vocal advocate for technological improvements within the courts. They have made valuable suggestions to encourage changes in the system. These include allowing criminal defence lawyers to conduct digital or virtual court appearances through email. This method can save time and space in court and helps cases move forward more efficiently.
In addition, the Criminal Lawyers Association has put forward the idea that disclosure should be made available online. This would be done through a secure server, accessible to the criminal defence lawyers. They would also receive notifications when a new disclosure has been added to the server.
Know your rights! If you need help with criminal charges, Toronto Defence Lawyers are ready to assist. They have defended young offenders successfully since 2003 and are available for consultations.
