The ReeveLaw Blog – Page 28 – Criminal Defence Law Blog

DUTY COUNSEL –> UNDERRATED, OVERWORKED AND UNDERPAID – “Fortunately, in Canada, people who need legal advice can turn to one of the most important and least-known essential services we have: duty counsel. It’s just another thing to be proud of in our country. Duty counsel represent people who don’t have a lawyer in the initial stages of the justice system: first appearances before a judge, bail hearings, child custody matters, mental health courts and much more.”

Karen Wilford — https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/news/opinion/canadas-first-ever-duty-counsel-day-celebrated-the-backbone-of-access-to-justice/361258

YOU CANNOT DETERMINE IMPAIRMENT FROM BLOOD THC LEVELS – “Even the Crown’s witness, Centre of Forensic Sciences toxicologist Betty Chow, agreed there are too many variables — how was the cannabis ingested, how long before driving, was the person new to the drug — making it impossible to determine if a driver was impaired based just on a blood THC level.”

Screenshot of Brady Robertson at St. Michael's Hospital (court exhibit) — https://o.canada.com/news/local-news/mandel-brady-robertson-guilty-of-impaired-driving-in-deadly-crash-but-dependent-on-charter-challenge

THE ROLE OF THE PROSECUTOR AND THE SANCTITY OF PLEA AGREEMENTS

“Crown counsel represent the public’s interest and not that of a victim or complainant. It cannot be over-emphasized that the purpose of a criminal prosecution is not to obtain a conviction. The repudiation of a plea agreement is a rare and exceptional event.”

http://www.slaw.ca/2021/10/31/injustice-created-by-crown-imbalance/

LEGISLATIVE REFORM OF CANADA’S SENTENCING LAWS IS OVERDUE. THE TIME IS NOW

“True, some of these growing disparities are largely rooted in the previous Harper government’s failed “tough on crime” policies. But that doesn’t let the Trudeau Liberals off the hook for failing to halt the spreading stain of shame by reversing these policies. It is well known that mandatory minimum sentences disproportionately impact racialized groups. The federal government has promised for years to do away with these harmful, one-size-fits-all sentences.”

Justice Minister David Lametti responds to a question during a news conference in Ottawa, Friday May 7, 2021. — https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2021/11/01/justice-reform-can-no-longer-take-a-back-seat-for-trudeau-liberals.html

“The province is also “establishing an experienced team of prosecutors to conduct an intensive case review and resolution blitz of targeted offences from region to region” and “an updated COVID-19 Recovery Directive for prosecutors to help address the growing backlog of criminal cases and focus resources where they are needed most — the prosecution of serious cases such as murder, sexual assault & gun-related offences. – We shall see what it means.

https://www.thelawyersdaily.ca/business/articles/30858/ontario-invests-over-72-million-to-address-unprecedented-backlog-of-criminal-cases-

Province is ‘directly messing with our ability to defend clients’: lawyers protest new Legal Aid ‘guilty plea certificates’

Think about it. The Province owns and administers the court buildings. The Province pays the Judges. The Province pays the Crown Attorneys. The Province funds Legal Aid Ontario. The Province has a huge backlog of criminal cases. A Judge does not have the power to compel the Crown to withdraw any charge, so the Province is prepared to pay a lawyer to help you plead guilty, regardless of financial eligibility, but not for your trial.