Judge slams lack of resources to try cases

Charges being dropped because of a lack of prosecutorial resources is a stain on the administration of justice, a Calgary judge said as he let an impaired-driving suspect go free.

Provincial court Judge Josh Hawkes, during a court proceeding last month, called the Crown’s need to “triage” certain cases an “unfortunate situation.”

In a transcript of the April 3 proceedings, obtained by Postmedia, Crown prosecutor Thom Forsyth told Hawkes he was withdrawing charges of impaired driving and failing to appear against the suspect.

“Under the Crown’s current triage protocols we do not have anyone available to prosecute this matter,” said Forsyth.

“As such, the Crown will be withdrawing the informations before you today.”

Before allowing the accused to leave, Hawkes determined it was worth commenting on.

“I say this in no criticism of you, Mr. Forsyth, but, for the record, it is a matter of serious concern any time otherwise viable charges are withdrawn because of a lack of institutional resources,” said Hawkes, a former prosecutor himself.

“That reflects very poorly on the administration of justice. As I say, that’s not a criticism of you.

“You’re not in charge of the resource allocation decisions that caused that circumstance, but it reflects very badly on the community when we can’t have trials on the merits that would otherwise be appropriate for an accused person and for the community to determine, as a matter of fact, whether the charges have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” Hawkes said. “So, I thank you for bringing that unfortunate situation to my attention.”

The Calgary Crown prosecutor’s office set up triage protocols in response to a Supreme Court decision two years ago, which set strict guidelines for how quickly cases must move through the courts.

The so-called Jordan decision said trials in provincial court must be completed within 18 months of a person being charged, and within 30 months for those that proceed to Court of Queen’s Bench.