Award costs, reduce sentences when trials delayed unduly, senators say
OTTAWA — The Liberal government needs to give judges new tools to help courts deal with cases that take too long to get to trial, to better prevent those accused of sexual assault or murder from going free on a technicality, a Senate committee says.
“We’re saying for very serious cases, this is a shock to the conscience of the community,” said Sen. George Baker, a Senate Liberal and deputy chair of the standing Senate committee on legal and constitutional affairs.
“This brings the administration of justice into disrepute in the eyes of the Canadian public.”
The Supreme Court’s groundbreaking Jordan decision last summer set out a new framework for determining whether a criminal trial has been unreasonably delayed to the point where it has violated an accused’s charter rights.