Law Times

PAGE 2 NEWS JUNE 9, 2008 / LAW TIMES Continued from page 1 Measures an 'important' first step Presidents' Association chairman Randall Bocock says the associa- tion is "entirely supportive" of the government's plans, as they dove- tail with many of the recommen- County and District Law dations within a recent CDLPA report on judicial resources. "We've recommended that DD LT RXQTH-04 Online ad 5/29/08 12:45 PM Page 1 there be an assessment of ap- propriate benchmarks and time- frames representing reductions in case file times and timeframes, and then monitoring and super- vising to ensure those benchmarks are achieved," says Bocock. But he says the next steps to- ward solving the problem of crimi- nal court delays are proper legal aid funding and judicial complement. visit Dye & Durham Online to view our NEW GREEN categories "If we focus on those two items, together with these amend- ments, we think we'll go a long way to addressing the delays," which he says strike at the heart of access to justice in the province. "From the public's perception, access to justice, where justice is de- layed, whether you're an accused, whether you're a victim, whether you're a Crown, or whether you're the police, where justice is delayed because of the elongation of time from charge to verdict, that is ef- fectively an inaccessible justice sys- tem," says Bocock. The measures announced last week will supplement the efforts of former chief justice of the On- government said the tario Superior Court Patrick LeSage and University of Toron- to law professor Michael Code, who are leading a review of large and complex criminal cases. Bocock says the government also must deal with delays in fami- ly law matters, child custody cases, and civil trials. Boni says he's "cautiously op- timistic" about Bentley's plans to cut delays. He says new protocols must be set up between the police and Crown and that judges must enforce disclosure timelines, se- nior Crowns must vet cases early on based solely on the merits of the specific case, and vertical case management must be eliminated in Toronto courts. LT System could contribute to wrongful convictions Continued from page 1 Dye & Durham is your partner for a greener environment. Your GREEN product choices include: • D&D Specialty Products • File Folders • Light Bulbs • Notebooks and Pads • Post-it Products • Writing Instruments • Printer Supplies • Organizational Supplies • Paper Products • Shipping Supplies • Presentation Products • Storage Products yourONE source supplier for dyedurham.ca • 1-888-393-3874 • Fax: 1-800-263-2772 OFFICE & FURNITURE PRODUCTS Office & Furniture Products • Corporate Promotional Products Printing & Graphic Services • Law Office Essentials Corporate Supplies • Search & Registration Services you're going to find a lot of these," she tells Law Times. "Most criminal cases get resolved one way or another in provincial court, and they get resolved quickly and cheaply. That's where you're going to find people taking these plea deals, you know, they're just being convicted and they're not really good convictions." The defence lawyers are quick to point out Ontario pays Good Faith in Canadian Insurance Law is a new looseleaf service that will help give practitioners and insurance professionals the information they need when dealing with bad faith claims in insurance law. This book covers issues such as: An important resource for anyone doing insurance-related work Practitioners will gain a solid understanding of the principles of the implied obligation of good faith and get practical guidance on handling their case based Insurance industry professionals and in-house counsel will get a better sense of their obligations and more clarity on the limits of their obligations. Counsel will benefit by understanding how to avoid and respond to bad faith claims and manage litigation more effectively. www.canadalawbook.ca WINSOR_Good Faith in Insurance Law (LT 1-4x3).indd 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 6/4/08 9:33:54 AM private lawyers $200 an hour when they are hired as Crown agents for prosecution, and argue the legal aid defence lawyers should be closer to that level. Mark Ertel, president of the Defence Counsel Association of Ottawa, says a Charter challenge could be possible under s. 11.d — a "fair and public hearing" — or the principles of fundamental justice guaranteed under s. 7. "I think the way the courts have gone, the way the jurispru- dence has gone, you could have a Charter challenge, but only on a case-by-case basis," he tells Law Times. "It's not impossible, but it would be really hard to get the evidentiary foundation." LT Marketplace EMPLOYMENT WANTED Services - Available law clerk. Proficient in estates, real estate, litigation, ADR, corporate/commercial and labour and employ- ment. Part/full time. Messages (416) 621-2485. COUNSELING Dr. Valentin Shulman - Helping legal professionals to overcome depression and stress since 1989. Individual sessions, telephone coaching. Call (416) 766-6185. To advertise call 905-841-6481 homicide case to trial under legal aid. "Whether or not it has led to a wrongful conviction in a spe- cific case is something that is probably better spoken to by some one who investigates individual cases," he tells Law Times. "I can certainly say that universally, judges are telling me they're get- ting less-experienced lawyers doing more serious cases, and the Crown attorneys are telling me the same thing, and the defence bar is telling me the same thing. "It does increase the chances of a wrongful conviction. Our experience is that it takes upward of five to 15 years to uncover wrongful convictions. It is a bit early, but it is around the time when we will start to see that," he says. Addario adds the likelihood of a wrongful conviction for lesser crimes may be greater, saying, "It's something we think about all the time in the criminal bar. We worry that with the attention and notoriety given to homicide cases, what happens to all those other cases that just don't get the attention and the [counsel] experience that they deserve." A co-president of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted agrees, saying six of eight cases of recent exoneration for past murder convictions involved legal aid counsel at original trials. Co-president Elisabeth Widner said she and her colleagues at the association are also concerned inexperience by low-paid legal aid lawyers in summary convictions may be causing more problems than are known. "We've long suspected that provincial court is probably where

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