The real court delay problem

Re: Justice ministers to tackle courts lag, Joanna Smith, April 28

In the wake of the Jordan decision, politicians have suddenly awoken to the issue of delays in Canada’s criminal courts.

As a way to combat recalcitrant courts, some have suggested that we do away with preliminary inquiries ( PI), while others cry about the shortage of judges, prosecutors, facilities and staff.

Respectfully, nobody has looked at the real problem: the arrest and criminalization of people who are only guilty of stupidity and lapses of judgment in situations that really ought not to be dealt with within the criminal justice system.

The really difficult decision that needs to be made is to take a hard look at a typical list in a typical courtroom. I would estimate that at least 50 per cent — or more — of the crimes fall within the “domestic/drinking and driving/ personal drug/shoplifting/minor assault/nuisance” categories.

And, when further analysis is made of the reasons why these people committed these offences — leaving aside the presumption of innocence and the Crown’s requirement to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt — it becomes clear that alcohol, drugs, loss of temper, foolishness and stupidity are the reasons why normally law-abiding people find themselves arrested.

Even within more the more serious crimes category, tragic events in people’s lives can cause them to react in a criminal fashion, even though there is no victim, except themselves and, obviously, their families — assuming they even have families. I dare say that we all know people who, due to terrible circumstances, thought that they could correct their situation through what turns out to be a nonviolent or non- victim criminal act.

The very human question is whether such people really need to go through such a process to learn a lesson?

As British Columbia has l earned, prosecuting the average drinking and driving case under its Highway Traffic Act, instead of the Criminal Code, has reduced its dockets by almost a third. Similarly, if minor level domestic assault and threaten complaints were actually assessed for their overall effects on the family unit — and perhaps shipped to Family Courts for possible mediation and reconciliation, I dare say that the court lists would go down by another 20 per cent or more. As for families and others who think that police and criminal courts are the “best” way to get help for their loved ones — I say, think again, don’t call the cops, and force the politicians to spend money on other resources. Leo Adler, Toronto