N. S. to offer early plea bargains in bid to speed up system

Nova Scotia prosecutors will offer early plea bargains in minor criminal cases in an attempt to meet Supreme Court of Canada demands for speedier trials.

Chief Judge Pamela Williams told the province’s criminal lawyers in a memo that a working group she chairs is launching a new effort to swiftly resolve “relatively straightforward matters” – and raised the possibility that the approach could extend to more serious offences.

A Supreme Court ruling last July set out a new framework declaring that a reasonable wait for trial is 18 months for provincial court cases and 30 months for cases before superior courts.

The deadlines have left provinces scrambling to dispose of a backlog of criminal charges before the clock runs out. In a handful of cases, including one first- degree murder trial, charges have been stayed or withdrawn on the grounds that the defendant’s right to a speedy trial had been violated.

In response to the decision, Williams said a team of criminal justice officials has developed a pilot program in Halifax and Dartmouth in which prosecutors and defence lawyers try to work out a resolution early in the trial.

The process aims to streamline what could be weeks of court hearings into a one- page form.

The provincial court chief judge said the approach is meant to deal with charges like breaching a court order, firstoffence breathalyzer charges, minor property crime and lowlevel assaults.

Williams said the process could eventually apply to “midrange cases” such as breaking and entering and more serious assaults, including those causing bodily harm, but said it wasn’t designed for cases involving sexual assault, sexual offences against children, significant property loss or significant violence.

Tom Singleton, a criminal lawyer in Halifax, said the project has the potential to relieve court congestion by making both parties’ positions known early in the case and leading to “creative” settlements.

Singleton said the province instituted a similar program in 2005 but the approach was later abandoned upon the retirement of the sole prosecutor responsible for reviewing every file in Halifax.

“It takes commitment,” Singleton said in an interview. “If it’s not pushed, it will fall by the wayside.”