BC Provincial court backlog

[dinosaur]

So I find this beyond frustrating...maybe more so than the actually bullshit sentences handed out by our justice system. This one is obviously a little closer to home for me as I knew Charlene...but the articles also discuss how this actually happens quite often.

'Disgusting' court backlog may free hit and run accused - British Columbia - CBC News

Hit and run victim's family fears accused will walk - News - MSN CA

And somebody help me understand this...I, unfortunately, do not know exactly how our court system works. How is it that they are already processing the Canuck Rioters and issuing charges of there is a huge backlog of cases such as the one above? I can only hope it is dependent on the type of crime and not the fact that Christy Clark pushed the rioters through the system first as a political move.

It also angers me that Clark states that, "I share the frustration that every British Columbian feels when we see delays and when we see stays in the justice system. It's not right. It's not working. I'm really frustrated about that" when she does have some form of control over the situation.

I am a little at a loss for words...

[JD¹³]

In a catch and release, zero accountability society like we have a court backlog is absolutely no surprise.

[StylinRed]

Originally Posted by dinosaur

And somebody help me understand this...I, unfortunately, do not know exactly how our court system works. How is it that they are already processing the Canuck Rioters and issuing charges of there is a huge backlog of cases such as the one above?

Christy Crunch

as for court backlogs this is an issue in every province and every country

especially with cases involving more than 1 lawyer, scheduling is 1 reason why and its insane it ends up creating a build up mix in evidence filings, voire dires, holidays, etc, etc is why cases can take years to deal with

[SumAznGuy]

Originally Posted by StylinRed

Christy Crunch

as for court backlogs this is an issue in every province and every country

especially with cases involving more than 1 lawyer, scheduling is 1 reason why and its insane it ends up creating a build up mix in evidence filings, voire dires, holidays, etc, etc is why cases can take years to deal with

Don't forget all the budget cuts from many moons ago and now Vancouver also deals with Burnaby cases and New West deals with Coquitlam cases.

[Soundy]

So wait... everyone has been setting their hair on fire that it took months and months to even start charging the rioters, let alone get any of them into court... now with the backlog, it's such a shocking, terrible thing that they've been processed so "quickly"??

[dinosaur]

^ no dude....dont get me wrong. I am totes for the rioters being processed as soon as possible....but at what cost.

It is obviously naive of me not to fully understand how the courts work and how common backlogs are....my argument is, is that if the only reason we are processing these rioter ASAP is for a political reason, it is wrong.

If you ask me if I care that this riot bullshit takes longer because we are dealing with more serious crime, not one bit. I'd much rather see the riot cases thrown out than murders, assaults, manslaughters, drug crimes, etc...it needs to be prioritized.

[PiuYi]

was just reading this

The B.C. government is embarking on a major restructuring of the province's justice system, Premier Christy Clark announced on Wednesday.

The reforms include a reorganization of the Attorney General's Office under a new Justice Ministry to be lead by current Attorney General Shirley Bond.

Oversight of ICBC will now become the responsibility of the Finance Ministry and control of liquor and gaming regulations will go to the Ministry of Energy and Mines.

The government has also set up a major review of the justice system that will include a review of whether police should be able to approve criminal charges in B.C. Currently police can only recommend criminal charges to Crown prosecutors to approve.

Attorney General Shirley Bond appointed prominent lawyer Geoffrey Cowper to chair the review which is scheduled to issue its report in July.

"A vital element of our reform initiative will be a dialogue with the judiciary about how we can make improvements and find efficiencies," said Bond in statement issued Wednesday morning.

But B.C. NDP leader Adrian Dix says the Liberals have announced reviews and reforms of the justice system in the past, and never followed through.

NDP critic Leonard Krog suggests the premier is employing a delay tactic.

"I've said jokingly that she's a day late and a dollar short. Well today she didn't really even announce a dollar. She said, 'Trust us until after the election that we can fix this,'" said Krog.

The launch of the reform effort coincided with the release of an internal audit of the justice system, which examined accountability, coordination, costs and management within the system.

According to the head of the organization that represents Crown prosecutors in B.C., the province must also consider the long-term effects of the federal government's new tough-on-crime bill.

Samian Lakshman says Ottawa's plan to introduce new mandatory minimum sentences will mean even more trials in the future.

"Fewer people are going to plead guilty when there's a higher mandatory minimum. That's just a reality," said Lakshman.

"If we do nothing and sit back, then what will happen is the very perverse result that we'll have even more victims shut out and even more trials thrown out because of delay."

Legal Aid lawyer Phil Rankin says the premier's announced review of the justice system is insulting and having the police lay charges will only increase the number of cases in the system.

"This is going to cause an escalation. This is going to cause a real strike. I foresee we're heading down the road leading to very open conflict with this minister and we don't want it. We want to compromise," said Rankin.

On Tuesday the government appointed nine new judges following repeated complaints there are not enough to handle the caseload in the provincial court system.

The appointments followed warnings from the Chief Justice of B.C. Robert Bauman that the judicial system is nearing a "tipping point" because of a shortage of funding and judges to properly hear cases.

Currently, there are 2500 cases that have been before the courts for 18 months, and a further 7600 cases that are more than a year old.

A recent report found judges threw out 109 cases due to delays last year, almost double the number from 2010.

B.C. to overhaul justice system - British Columbia - CBC News

[Mr.HappySilp]

LOL what do u expect when the gov cut funding.

[TheKingdom2000]

I just wish there was someone in power who could actually manage our tax money responsibly and efficiently. I think our system and every other system needs an overhaul.

So much money is being wasted at so many levels
Posted via RS Mobile

[Gridlock]

My favorite is the fact that legal aid lawyers are pissed about the cuts...money that is collected and paid for by "for profit" lawyers.

It's a no-brainer that it should be fully funded, but gets raided to pay for more gimmes.