Technology is available at our fingertips. Stuck inside our purses, our pockets, we whip out devices and we are connected to the world.
The criminal justice system is based on notions of jurisdiction over the body and jurisdiction over the offence. This compels a person facing criminal charges to appear before the courts to have their guilt or innocence determined. To get from arrest to trial, in Toronto courts, can take many housekeeping appearances or remands. When I started practising criminal defence work in 1991, the remands were far fewer. I recall setting many trial dates on the same day as the bail hearing was held. Now administrative hurdles must be crossed before trials can be set. Has the Crown provided full disclosure? Often this process itself can involve many remands before the answer is yes. Is the accused going to retain counsel? Again, the answering of this question can involve many remands.
Boxes need to be checked off, files moved from one location to the next, while these basics get dealt with.
Counsel, if retained, can appear on behalf of accused persons, if an appropriate Designation is filed. This Designation in effect stands for the proposition that the counsel has been fully retained. A difficult dilemma for criminal defence trial lawyers, is that, many unexpected turns of event, can occur in the litigating of a criminal brief, which could greatly extend the length and complexity of a matter. A criminal defence trial lawyer is not able to easily stop work on a brief if the retainer is depleted, and they are on the ‘record’. Unlike civil counsel, once on the record, the criminal defence trial lawyer is generally there to stay, barring a breakdown with professional relationship with the client, and/or moral and ethical dilemmas necessitating a request to the court to be removed as counsel of record. Criminal defence trial lawyers have to be prognosticians of the future and hope to ensure that adequate funds are received before they ‘go on the record’, otherwise, they are in peril of working for free.
While technology is being brought to bear in many different facets of the legal world, at least in the criminal courts, much of the work involved in getting the matter from arrest to trial, still seems to be very 20th century, perhaps even 19th century.
Could we improve on the efficiencies in the criminal justice system, and save time, money and resources for all players in the system, including the tax payer? Could technology offer a solution? I think so.
A simplified remand procedure wherein most of the administrative work could be done via the internet, through protected portals, is something that I would welcome. My clients would no doubt welcome it too.