N.S. court backlog worsening due to COVID and the 'Jordan ticker'
CBC
Every day, Crown attorneys in Nova Scotia walk into work with the "Jordan ticker" on their mind, as they sift through cases — from homicide to sexual assault — and try to determine which are at risk of being dropped.
The number is alarmingly high, with 1,046 pending cases currently over the so-called Jordan threshold in provincial court — a 187 per cent increase from 364 cases in 2020. In Nova Scotia Supreme Court, there are 68 criminal matters currently over the threshold, an increase of 84 per cent from 37 cases in March 2020.
"It does concern me primarily because there would be many cases where the public would likely be very concerned about a case not being able to be properly tried before a court and decided by a judge," said Kentville Crown attorney Dan Rideout.
The Jordan decision is a 2016 ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada that sets a limit of 18 months between the laying of charges and the actual or anticipated end of a trial in provincial court. In superior courts, the ceiling is 30 months.
CBC obtained the latest statistics in Nova Scotia through a Freedom of Information request. Between July 2016 and June 2021, there have been 48 applications seeking a stay of proceedings in Nova Scotia under the Jordan guidelines. Eight cases have been dropped as a result, including three sexual assault cases, two impaired driving charges, a voyeurism charge against a family physican and a break and enter case.
Rideout said he's not surprised by the current number of cases hovering over the threshold because he sees the delays on a daily basis.
"There is such a backlog of cases because there's not enough resources to be able to deal with them," he said. "The Crown attorneys are focused on that, and we're already working evenings and weekends to address these delay issues on these important cases because we feel both a moral and ethical responsibility."
The Jordan argument can only be used if the prosecution caused unnecessary delays in a case. Typically, the defence would make the application for a stay of proceedings.
"Prior to COVID, we were in a situation where there was a large backlog, Jordan was still being dealt with and then the pandemic hit, and all of those cases just kept piling up and piling up as the courts closed," said Rick Woodburn, Halifax Crown attorney and president of the Canadian Association of Crown Counsel.
"And now we're reaching a critical point where that tsunami of cases — the ones before the pandemic, the ones during the pandemic and the ones occurring now — are all starting to flood the courts and flood our offices."
Woodburn said he's hearing a similar story in jurisdictions across the country.
CBC obtained a copy of the briefing book for Nova Scotia's new justice minister. Among other things, the document outlines staffing issues caused by the pandemic.
"The workload of Crown Attorneys continues to increase and Crown Attorneys are feeling the pressure," said Martin Herschorn, director of public prosecutions, in the briefing.
"Management has received reports over the last year of our more senior Crown Attorneys experiencing burnout and our more junior Crown Attorneys feeling overwhelmed. We have seen several early retirements and a number of medical leaves as a result."
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