1. Arrested persons should be given a first appearance date of approximately 1 month to give a reasonable time to retain counsel.
2. First appearance calendars should be divided into time slots, of say 15 minutes apart.
3. Police divisions can be given specific time periods on certain days of the week for first appearances. Example: 9:00 to 11:00, 11:00 to 1:00 and 2:30 to 4:00. Each division could give 3 or 4 accused’s an appearance notice for each time slot.
4. If, before the first appearance, counsel is retained and advises the Crown and the Trial Co-ordinator by email, it will be deemed that the accused has attorned to the jurisdiction of the Court through counsel and that the accused consents to an administrative adjournment. The Trial Coordinator will place the matter on an administrative adjournment list for the first appearance date. The matter will be adjourned administratively for approximately 3 months hence and placed on the administrative adjournment list for the adjourned date.
5. The Crown will provide disclosure to counsel as available.
6. Persons who have not retained counsel will need to appear in person at the assigned time slot. Upon attendance, they will be provided with disclosure. Three or four duty counsel, as required, will be set up, each to give advice to one accused person. This would allow approximately 15 minutes for consultation.
7. During the following 15 minute period, those accused will appear one at a time, in court in person before the Judge/JP to be remanded, as usual, according to each need.
8. The single in-court Crown can address the administrative remand list, if not done out of court electronically, in between speaking to in-person matters.
9. The goal will be to move as many people as possible from the in-court remand list to the administrative remand list.
10. When the matter is ready, counsel and Crown will request the matter brought forward for a remote JPT. Preferably the JPT will be a video conference.
11. Guilty pleas, if possible, will be conducted remotely, as are bail hearings. Guilty pleas which will result in incarceration will either have to take place in person or a method developed to order a convict to report to a facility at a certain time.
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE NOTICE TO THE PROFESSION, etc. JUNE 25, 2020
As the court is set for limited in-person re-opening, matters that were originally scheduled for March to August will be further administratively adjourned to a specific date in mid-September.
https://www.ontariocourts.ca/scj/notices-and-orders-covid-19/notice-june-25-2020/
DECARCERATION – COVID-19 may cause us to re-examine the role of incarceration in our society in the 21st century.
SOME PEOPLE ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO DEFEND – You may recall her by her brazen social media posts praising drunk driving.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/darya-selinevich-drunk-driving-charge-1.5623595
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/darya-selinevich-drunk-driving-charge-1.5623595
IF A COURT DECISION SEEMS RIDICULOUS IT’S USUALLY BECAUSE YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND IT – This decision did not say what you think it did.
SASKATCHEWAN – Impaired driving fatalities, injuries in province hit record low in 2019: SGI. Is this a cultural shift?
Assist citizen call. Police attend. Citizen dead.
Canadian Police Killed Second Indigenous Person in a Week – Yet another reason why the entire concept of policing has to be re-evaluated.
Police Killed a Young Indigenous Woman In New Brunswick During Wellness Check – “the officer fired five times” Yet another reason why the entire concept of policing has to be re-evaluated.
Dashcam Video Shows Canadian Police Jump Tackling, Punching Indigenous Chief –
“RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki said the force doesn’t have a systemic racism problem and she “struggles” with the term.” Yet another reason why the entire concept of policing has to be re-evaluated.