Cornwall court on trial

Stats show court third slowest in region

Cornwall Standard Freeholder

11 June 2008

Posted By DAVID NESSETH AND MEGAN HARRISON

A Cornwall defence lawyer walks up to address the court, a case file covering all but his eyes in a scene usually reserved for when a toddler spills grape juice on the living room carpet.

He's apprehensive because Justice of the Peace Basil Marchand has just ended a tirade on how frequent yet fruitless court appearances are a waste of valuable resources, and he's not quite sure how many times his next client has been remanded into legal limbo with no trial date in sight.

This is the state of the criminal court system in Cornwall, if not across Ontario, and it seems the province has finally decided to sit up and take notice.

New statistics released by the Ministry of the Attorney General show that since 2000 Cornwall has, on average, had the third least efficient courthouse out of the 10 in eastern Ontario.

Criminal proceedings in Cornwall take an average of 209 days and 7.3 court appearances to finish a case. In comparison, the provincial average for completion is 194 days and 7.9 court appearances, numbers which have doubled within the last 15 years.

For this reason, the province has unveiled Justice on Target, a four-year program designed to reduce the number of days and appearances it takes to complete a criminal case in Ontario by 30 per cent.

"We're tying up a huge number of judicial resources: judges, Justices of the Peace, police, Crowns, witness time and defence lawyers in adjournments, and not advancing the cause of justice," said Attorney General Chris Bentley.

"Time could be spent doing other things." The heart of the program starts with an analysis of several Ontario courthouses, where experts will attempt to identify and remove the barriers to swift justice.

Other initiatives, such as improvements to Legal-Aid services, and reworking the ways Crown attorneys organize their case-loads, are also expected to be implemented by the end of the four-year deadline.

But local Crown attorney Murray MacDonald

said he believes the reason for Cornwall's poor showing is more than just organizational, adding that there are an unusually high number of complex cases before the Cornwall court, notably the 11 for homicide.

Add this fact to the high number of federal cases, which often tackle smuggling charges, and it's a recipe for legal delays.

"Cases have become lengthier and more legally complex since my rookie

years in 1992," MacDonald said, noting his office welcomes the chance to talk efficiency with the province.

MORE CHARGES LOCALLY

Talk to local defence lawyers, and if you can find one, it becomes clear there are still other factors for why Cornwall's courts are lagging behind the pack.

Though it is one of the smaller cities in eastern Ontario, Cornwall consistently has thousands more charges per year than neighbouring Brockville, or even Kingston.

"We better Vaseline the side of the folder because it will be tough to make anything fit," said local defence attorney Bill Wade of his September caseload, adding that he's now booking cases well into April of 2009.

On top of the high number of cases, Wade claims the Cornwall Public Inquiry is also partly to blame for our dawdling justice system, tying up lawyers that could be trying criminal cases.

"Cornwall right now has a shortage (of lawyers) because of the Inquiry," he said, "and that's a never-ending story, which has drawn a lot of lawyers who were included in the criminal justice system."

With more lawyers in the Weave Shed than in the courthouse, law firms from Ottawa have taken the chance to swoop in and grab some of Cornwall's more high-profile cases, including those of Shane Haley, charged in the death of five-year-old Alissa Martin-Travers, and the young offender charged in the T. R. Leger stabbing last month.

Case-in-point, Haley's court proceedings have been the subject of repeated delays in what his father, Matthew Haley, has described as "a complete gaggle."

Since the April arrest, Haley has had his bail hearing delayed half a dozen times for what it seems are completely unnecessary reasons, including his first court appearance which was pushed back five days because it was unclear who he'd retained for legal counsel.

Other delays occurred when he was accidentally left off the docket, and after he was transported to Cornwall when he was meant to appear via video remand.

He has also had his proceedings deferred twice because a Justice of the Peace was unavailable, and finally, another delay after a replacement Crown attorney wasn't given Shane's file.

DETENTION CENTRE DISCONNECT

Wade said yet another reason why Cornwall's court operates in slow-motion is the disconnect within the client/lawyer communication process.

When the local jail closed in 2002 for the newer, larger facility in Ottawa, prisoners lost the ease of contact with their lawyers.

They instead found themselves in the overcrowded Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre (OCDC), where a phone call is much more of a privilege because of the high demand.

The Defence Counsel Association of Ottawa has highlighted that judges have occasionally credited prisoners with up to three days time served for each day spent at the facility, which also took prisoners from Burritt's Rapids and the Pembroke jail in 2004.

These communication difficulties at OCDC are now taking their toll on Cornwall's courts, notably the video remand system. Instead of making the drive to Ottawa, lawyers are getting in the habit of asking JPs for a private discussion with their client before addressing the court.

With sometimes more than 100 items on the docket, all which need attention by the end of the day, these short consultations can quickly add up to some lengthy delays.

The hope for many lawyers, Wade said, is that the remand process keeps a trial within grasp, so that clients are not transferred to the superjail in Lindsay, Ont., where a one-hour clinet/lawyer disconnect suddenly becomes closer to four, that is if the jail is not in lockdown.

This seemed to be the cause of finger- wagging JP Marchand's frustration, referring to this practice as an "abuse of process."

Wade agrees, saying he's aware of the technique, and understands why Justices of the Peace get so aggravated by it.

"If it doesn't appear the file is moving, they're aware of that, and try to push counsel who are sitting on their hands waiting for a client to recant or a sign from God," he said.

SOLUTIONS, NOT LIP SERVICE

What can be done to fix these problems, most of which seem unique to the Cornwall area, isn't clear, though the obvious solutions have been offered by Wade and other local defence attorneys.

More staffing, at least one more Ontario Court Judge and another Superior Court Judge, would go a long way, Wade said.

Former Crown Attorney turned defence lawyer Don Johnson prefers a more controversial approach, asking for more discretion in areas of zero-tolerance from the ministry in areas like DUIs, domestic and sexual assaults.

"It clogs up the courts," Johnson said. "If the charge is there, then the charge has to go. It's either plead guilty of go to trial. It's ultra-conservative: prosecution, prosecution."

According to Bentley, however, his ministry will not be addressing either of these issues with Justice on Target, offering no excuses for their zero-tolerance policies, and believing there are better ways to deal with delay issues than throwing money at them.

"What we see is that in spite of the additional resources, the system is slowing down," he said.

"You strengthen the case for more by making the case when you're doing it more effectively."

Still, Bentley said, generating these kinds of discussions through the start of the program and the release of unflattering statistics is exactly what the ministry was hoping would happen.

Now, he said, it's up to members of the courts and the ministry to put their heads together to find a sustainable solution.

- - -

2007 Ontario Court of Justice case timelinesfor Eastern Ontario

Location

Belleville Brockville

Cornwall

Kingston L'Orignal Napanee Ottawa

Pembroke Perth Picton Charges

5,705 5,112

8,120

6,949 3,078 2,763

38,308 4,810 4,570 1,133 Average Days to Trial Completion

146 192

206

177 246

93 207 167 130 115 Average Appearances to Trial Completion

7.1 7.6

8.2

9.7 5.2 5.0 9.2 7.7 8.8 5.1

- - -

JUSTICE ON TARGET

1. Oversee an implementation

team working on the ground in local courthouses

2. Engage the Judiciary, the Criminal Defence bar, Crown prosecutors and the police

3. Develop and implement new initiatives to help meet the target

4. Report to a results table chaired by Attorney General Chris Bentley

Source: Ministry of Attorney General

Comments on this Article.

I wonder how many cases are thrown out because a defendants right to a speedy trial have been infringed?? Its a shame when a person is dragged "over the coals" for sooo long because the system needs to get a big fix and the ones that are paying the price are the ones who are sitting waiting to have their day in court. I feel bad for those who are evntually fopund not guilty/innocent and have lost so much time incarcerated for nothing..

Reply | Report | Page Top Post #1 By OutWest,

Is there anything that the gouverment runs that is done properly accept to raise taxes and cause the closer of mfg jobs and allow 3 rd world countries to scoop canadian industries without penality. Thanks to our over worked and over paid politicans we find ourselves in this position. If they spent less time be liars and got to work and fix things we would be a lot better off. When are the good citizens of this country going to wake up and do somethin about it.

Reply | Report | Page Top Post #2 By what justice,

Is there anything that the gouverment runs that is done properly accept to raise taxes and cause the closer of mfg jobs and allow 3 rd world countries to scoop canadian industries without penality. Thanks to our over worked and over paid politicans we find ourselves in this position. If they spent less time be liars and got to work and fix things we would be a lot better off. When are the good citizens of this country going to wake up and do somethin about it.

Reply | Report | Page Top Post #3 By what justice,