COURT BACKLOG KEEPS ON GROWING

TORONTO -- Ontario's court backlog jumped 9% over four years to a
staggering 97,000 criminal charges, attorney general ministry figures
obtained by the Sunday Sun reveal.

"It's clear that the criminal justice system is in crisis; it is on
the cusp of collapse," NDP MPP Peter Kormos said. "And this reinforces
the need for a public inquiry into the recent staying of charges
against Toronto police officers so we can understand exactly what's
happening in the ministry of the attorney general and in the criminal
courts."

According to the latest data available from the ministry, 97,176
criminal charges had been waiting for trial for more than eight months
in 2006/07.

The 2005 Ontario Auditor General report noted as of February 2002,
there were 89,000 criminal charges backlogged in the courts.

Sheamus Murphy, a spokesman for Attorney General Chris Bentley, said
the number of criminal charges entering the justice system grew by
9.4% in the five years between 2001/02 and 2006/07.

CASELOAD UP

"So while the number of charges have been increasing, there's a 3.3%
decline in the number of charges that are pending more than eight
months and that's compared to five years ago," Murphy said.

"Although there's an increase ... the proportion of the total cases
has declined."

Criminal charges can also be in the hopper for longer than eight
months for reasons other than the backlog, such as the complexity of
the case or actions by the parties involved, and not be deemed to be
at risk by unreasonable delay.

Since a 1990 Supreme Court of Canada ruling that a routine case should
be tried within 8-10 months -- the Askov decision that resulted in
50,000 Ontario criminal charges being tossed out of court -- the
eight-month trial wait has become an important benchmark for the
justice system.

CASE TOSSED

An Ontario court stayed charges of conspiracy, perjury and obstruction
against six Toronto police drug squad officers this past week, after
the defence asked the case be dismissed for unreasonable delay.

Kormos said that decision raises questions about whether there are
systemic problems with under-resourcing in the court system, and if
other serious prosecutions are in jeopardy.

"This whole case cries out for a public inquiry," he said. "The stay
of these charges raises concerns in the minds of a whole lot of the
public about the fairness of the justice system."

Since becoming attorney general last fall, Bentley said he has been
working on initiatives to be unveiled over the next few months to help
resolve the backlog problem.

Over the past four years, the ministry has added 24 appointees to the
Ontario Court of Justice and created 150 more Crown attorney positions.

Half of 40 new Crown hires went to the clogged Scarborough and
Brampton courts in southern Ontario.

Bentley said his ministry is continually trying to improve the justice
system and alleviate backlogs, a problem that has dogged Ontario's
court system for decades.