JUSTICE DELAYED FRUSTRATING FOR ALL

According to the latest data available from the Attorney General's
office, 97,176 criminal charges had been waiting for trial for more
than eight months in 2006/07. The ramifications of this can be severe.

An Ontario court stayed charges of conspiracy, perjury and
obstruction against six Toronto Police drug squad officers last week
after the defence asked for the case to be dismissed on the basis of
unreasonable delay.

In Sault Ste. Marie the courts recently stayed nine charges of
indecent assault against a man, including three to which he two days
earlier had pleaded guilty, because of excessive delay in getting his
case to trial. The anger and frustration that comes from such
decisions is understandable.

There are serious ramifications when backlogs in courts are not
adequately addressed. The public can develop a perception that the
courts are not responsive to their needs, defendants can take
advantage of delays to argue that their cases be withdrawn and
witnesses' memories can fade over long periods, a 2002 auditor report
says.

Also, long delays caused by backlogs are unfair to accused persons
who want criminal charges outstanding against them resolved as soon
as possible.

We must get a handle on the backlog in our courts.

Over the past four years the ministry has added 24 appointees to the
Ontario Court of Justice and created 150 more Crown attorney
positions, but this appears to be only stemming the tide when you
consider the growing numbers.

Since becoming attorney general last fall, Chris Bentley said he has
been working on a number of initiatives to roll out over the next few
months to help resolve the backlog problem. We'll be interested to
see what these ideas are and frankly, we need to act on them
immediately, not over the next few months.