Some suspects might smile when their cases are dismissed because of court delays, but sa国际传媒鈥檚 logjammed justice system is no laughing matter. No one is well served when cases take too long to be resolved.
A sa国际传媒 Supreme Court judge stayed criminal charges against a Hells Angels member in Nanaimo on June 3 because the case was taking too long to come to trial.
Justice Robert Johnston agreed with the defence attorney that Fred Widdifield鈥檚 Charter right to a trial within a reasonable time had been violated. Widdifield and three other gang members were charged with extortion in November 2010, after allegedly pressuring a man for cash and property to settle a debt.
At first glance, it seems a handy strategy for a defence lawyer 鈥� delay the case long enough and the client walks.
But Michael Mulligan of the Victoria law firm Mulligan Tam Pearson says that isn鈥檛 how it works. In an application to have charges dismissed because of the length of time involved, he says a judge would look closely at the reasons for the delay.
鈥淒elay applications are successful where the accused person has done everything possible to secure a trial date and has done nothing to delay it,鈥� Mulligan said. He said a judge would see through a deliberate attempt to delay a trial. While there might be occasional instances where a person benefits when a trial is delayed, most people want a case dealt with as quickly as possible.
鈥淲aiting for a trial can be a nightmare, a very difficult experience,鈥� he said. 鈥淧eople end up on medical leave trying to deal with stress and anxiety.鈥� People can lose jobs, families and homes as the process grinds on too slowly.
The quality of justice for both prosecution and defence is eroded by delays. Memories fade, evidence deteriorates, witnesses move away or die.
When a case is dismissed for delay, the defendant is left in a kind of limbo, not having been convicted, but not having been cleared.
A dismissed case means more anguish, even danger, for victims of crimes.
Bureaucracy tends to be cumbersome, but the chief problem with sa国际传媒鈥檚 judicial system, Mulligan says, is lack of resources 鈥� specifically, not enough judges. He said the province attempted to address that problem through the senior judges program, in which judges old enough to retire could agree to sit half time, with the province topping up their pensions. In effect, says Mulligan, it meant getting a half-time judge for 25 per cent of the cost.
But in reality, as judges have gone into that program, the province hasn鈥檛 replaced the judges who have left, so there hasn鈥檛 been a net gain in the number of judges.
While it might look good for the budget, it doesn鈥檛 take into consideration other costs. Municipalities pay when police show up for trials that don鈥檛 proceed. Costs for defendants rack up as the the process drags on. These costs don鈥檛 show up on the province鈥檚 budget calculations.
Suppose someone charged with sex abuse commits more offences while awaiting trial 鈥� there isn鈥檛 an accounting category for that kind of cost, but it鈥檚 high.
The government says it is taking steps to reduce delays, but a report released in January shows there are now about 2,500 criminal cases that have been before the provincial court for 18 months or more, a 25 per cent increase over a year ago. Judges stayed 109 cases because of delays in 2012, almost double the number of cases delayed in 2010.
The right to a trial within a reasonable time isn鈥檛 merely a noble sentiment, it鈥檚 vital to the effective administration of justice.
