Three years after the provincial government started looking into the problem of an overburdened court system in Okotoks there are still moves being made to address long trial times without opening a second courthouse in the region.
The Okotoks courthouse deals with cases and from throughout the region including High River, the MD of Foothills north of High River, Turner Valley, Black Diamond, Millarville, Longview and Eden Valley.
The number of cases being heard in Okotoks nearly doubled in 2007 and 2008, up to 11,543, and has steadily grown over the past three years. The total amount of cases heard last year could not be ascertained by the Western Wheel’s press time.
As a result of the growing court appearances another court day was added. Traffic court is held on Monday. Docket court for regular appearances, bail hearings and sentencing are on Tuesdays and Fridays and trials are held Wednesday and Friday. Two Crown prosecutors have been assigned to work at the courthouse on docket days to try to resolve more cases so they won’t go to trial. The courthouse also began opening a half-hour earlier to try to get more done.
Alberta Justice will be making two more changes starting April 1.
A case management counter, which is already in affect in Calgary and Edmonton, will be operating in Okotoks in just over a month. Accused persons and their lawyers will be able to deal with routine court appearances such as setting a new court date, entering a plea or setting a trial date at the counter, rather than in the courtroom.
Julie Siddons, an Alberta Justice spokesperson, said the system is working in the cities.
“We are rolling this out to other places because it has been successful,” Siddons said.
In just over a month remote scheduling will also be available for court dates in Okotoks.
“It allows the Crown and defence to set a trial date online,” Siddons said.
Okotoks lawyer Brandi Aymont said the time it takes to get a trial date for clients not being held in custody is still too long and doesn’t expect the new changes will address the issue.
“There is no time left in 2012 for in custody trials,” said Aymont. “Most of January 2013 is already used up if you need a full-day trial too.”
The time it takes to get a trial in Okotoks has decreased by 22 percent down to an average of 35.1 weeks, however, that number includes both in custody and out of custody trial time. The Province doesn’t keep statistics on the average times for out of custody trial times. That compares to 34.6 weeks in Cochrane and 20 weeks in Calgary to get a trial. Earlier trial times are set aside for accused people being held in jail.
Under law a defence lawyer can file an application to have charges thrown out of court if it can’t be heard in a reasonable amount of time, called an Askov application. Aymont said she currently is considering filing an Askov application for two cases in Okotoks where the trial date had to be set more than a year away.
She said waiting a year causes problems for everyone in the justice system.
“If they can’t recall what happened and it’s a he-said she-said situation and (my client) can’t recall what happened they can’t even testify in their defense,” she said.
The lapse of time also affects the lawyers, Aymont said.
“It makes it difficult for preparing,” she said. “You have to meet with your client and go over it all again.”
Crown prosecutors have similar problems, she said, and have the added challenge of getting all their witnesses, who may have moved over the past year, in court.
She said the case management counter and remote scheduling will help on docket days and could free up time on docket days for bail hearings and sentencing, but will have no affect on trial times.
“I think a second courthouse is needed because Okotoks is slammed,” she said. “One courtroom is not enough.”
She pointed out as long as trials are only held twice a week no improvement can take place.
The Province has been looking at opening a second location since 2008. Re-opening the High River circuit court was ruled out early on. Since then the government has been looking at re-opening the courthouse in Turner Valley, but no decision has been made.
