British Columbia’s chief judge has issued a new practice directive for pre-trial conferences during COVID-19. If you have a youth or adult criminal file at a Provincial Court then you must now have a pre-trial conference.
This blog will inform you what you have to give your lawyer ahead of your pre-trial conference and why the new measures have been put in place.
Why is there a need for pre-trial conferences during COVID-19?
The outbreak of coronavirus brought normal court operations to a halt. Court hearings were suspended in March meaning all cases scheduled since then were adjourned until a later date. This has led to a backlog of cases in our already congested court system. The new practice directive is designed to help prioritise only those matters where a trial is necessary.
The 2016 Supreme Court of Canada decision, R. v. Jordan established a framework for determining whether a case has been resolved within a reasonable time. It set a presumptive ceiling of 18 months from charges being laid to the end of trial for provincial court matters. If it takes longer than that, the charges must be stayed, unless the case was particularly complex or there was a discrete event that caused a delay.
Pre-trial conferences, while seemingly an added step in the judicial process, will commence from now on in order to ease congestion with an aim at ensuring people are tried within a reasonable time.
According to Chief Judge Melissa Gillespie, more than three-quarters of all criminal files set for trial in Provincial Court collapsed on the day they were scheduled to take place due to guilty pleas, stays of proceedings, bench warrants or adjournments while only 4 % of criminal files in that time actually proceeded a the Provincial Court hearing. It is hoped the new measures will weed out unnecessary hearings.
What this means
The introduction of pre-trial conferences during COVID-19 means that anyone whose trial was adjourned and anyone who is scheduling a trial from now on will have to go through the pre-trial conference process. So you must act now to prepare if you have a hearing scheduled soon.
What is a pre-trial conference?
A pre-trial conference is an informal meeting between the Crown and the accused ahead of a court hearing. The pre-trial conference judge will be different to the trial judge if the case goes to court. It is possible to resolve the criminal file at the pre-trial conference without going to trial, for instance if the accused intends to plead guilty. This is why they are now mandatory.
All pre-trial conferences will be held via video conference or over the phone.
What do you have to prepare?
Before the pre-trial conference, the accused and their counsel must review all the necessary files thoroughly. They are instructed to provide any materials, that “may assist with resolution discussions and trial management issues.”
This includes things like evidence of an accused’s rehabilitation or instructions on whether they intend to plead guilty. If either side intends to request an adjournment of the trial, they must provide adequate reasons for the delay.
If you intend to request a preliminary inquiry ahead of a trial, you must file a Statement of Issues and Witnesses form.
Both sides must exchange all materials for the pre-trial conference and deliver them at least three business days before the conference.
The conference itself is an opportunity to discuss whether the matter can be resolved before a trial and it it does need to go to trial, it is a chance to make decisions about disclosure of evidence, witness arrangements and establishing facts about the case.
If you have an upcoming trial and you are unsure about arrangements ahead of your pre-trial conference, you should contact your lawyer immediately.