Responding to the virus with technology

Niagara’s courts show flexibility in operating virtually during second Ontario lockdown of pandemic

Virtual criminal and civil courts will continue operating in Niagara as Ontario enters into a second shutdown, although in-person jury trials are suspended.

Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice announced in December in-person jury trials will not resume until Feb. 1 at the earliest.

The announcement was made in response to the provincewide lockdown that began on Boxing Day to address the escalating COVID-19 virus case numbers.

Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz said in a statement released in mid-december that, while Superior Court of Justice will remain open during the lockdown, the courts must respond to the public health emergency.

“In all regions, I strongly encourage the use of virtual proceedings wherever possible,” he said.

“I recognize that parties, counsel and participants may not be comfortable attending a courthouse or travelling to attend court. The court must respond to this situation with great flexibility,” he added.

“We must continue to do what we can to move matters forward while supporting public health efforts to stabilize the situation.”

All non-jury matters will proceed virtually unless it is absolutely necessary to hold the proceedings in-person, and there will be a10-person limit in courtrooms.”

Niagara criminal lawyer David Protomanni represents a local man, arrested in 2018, who was originally set to stand trial before a jury in May ’20.

The matter was adjourned until January due to the global pandemic.

That trial, which is expected to last six months, has now been postponed for the second time due to the lockdown restrictions.

“I do not understand how jury trials are not running,” Protomanni said.

“People crowd into Costco and shopping centres, but we cannot have about 20 people get together in a very large room? It does not seem right.”

Like many institutions and essential services, the courts face uncertainty and challenges due to the global pandemic.

Prior to the health crisis, the courts operated on an in-person, paper-based format.

Today, civil claims, small claims and family law matters can be filed online — digital and electronic filing of court documents has become the norm, and thousands of cases have been heard virtually using video and teleconferencing.

Since the onset of the pandemic in March, there have been just more than 50,000 virtual hearings in Ontario Superior Court of Justice alone.

In certain cases where there is a high level of public interest, the court has broadcast hearings through a private Youtube channel. More than 20,000 viewers watched the trial of a Toronto police officer convicted of assaulting a teenager in Oshawa.

“The pandemic has jumpstarted a modernization of the court processes and all judicial stakeholders have been working together,” said Niagara lawyer Bobbie Walker, the judicial liaison with the Lincoln County Law Association.

“Relatively speaking, the court processes have changed very rapidly to meet the demands,” Walker added.

While many lawyers have embraced the changes, some say it has left their clients at a significant disadvantage.

“Unfortunately, those lacking resources — financially and/or with mental health issues — are more difficult to serve,” Walker said.

“Our courts have typically been a place where hard-to-serve clients or self- represented people were able to access most services/filings/information in one place.”

To ensure the court’s increasing reliance on technology does not exclude those who are most vulnerable, both Superior Court and Ontario Court of Justice have partnered with the private sector to distribute cellphones and SIM cards to children’s aid societies and the Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses.

Meanwhile, criminal matters such as guilty pleas were first conducted via teleconference in March and have since moved to a Zoom platform.

“Zoom technology has brought a sense of normality to the proceedings,” Walker said.

In addition to the new technology, a number of restrictions have been put in place at courthouses, including at the Robert S.K. Welch courthouse in St. Catharines and the Welland courthouse, to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

To maintain physical distancing, Plexiglas barriers have been installed in courtrooms, interview rooms, intake offices and at public counters.

Everyone who visits a courthouse is required to wear a face covering and will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms before entering.

Ontario’s attorney general, Doug Downey, said COVID-19 forced the justice system to evolve, at a rapid pace.

“We have reset Ontarian’s expectations on how justice can be done,” he said during a video livestream in December.

“These changes actually made our system stronger by making it more accessible to Ontarians and more resilient to whichever challenges the future might bring.”

Prior to the pandemic, prisoners would routinely be moved back and forth between custodial facilities such as Niagara Detention Centre and the courts, sometimes for only a brief appearance before the matter was adjourned to another date.

“This was not an effective use of the taxpayer’s money,” Protommani said.

Now, prisoners can appear in court via Zoom.

“When you know a client is not making a meaningful appearance in court, there is no point having the accused appear in person when we have the technology for them to appear virtually.”