A shock is necessary

Photo Martin Alarie
The disaster that left glimpses of the arrest, Jordan was able to be avoided, but the actors in the justice system must remain vigilant, says the chief justice of the superior Court of Quebec Jacques R. Fournier. “It takes strengths and appropriations, every effort counts”, he says.

Michael Nguyen

Monday, 10 July 2017 06:30

UPDATE
Monday, 10 July 2017 06:30

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The famous judgment in Jordan on time to the court has caused quite a shock in the judicial system this past summer, but a year later all the observers agree to say that it has enabled to put the justice on the rails.

“With Jordan, we were facing a disaster, and we responded, everyone is put to work, but this is not the end ; it takes the strengths and appropriations, every effort counts,” says the chief judge of the superior Court of Quebec Jacques R. Fournier.

The judgment of the supreme Court of Canada had caused a commotion in the province the past summer. Since, the accused have been released due to too long delays, including three murderers alleged.

Me Annick Murphy, the great patroness of the Director of criminal and penal prosecutions (DPCP), says, however, that it was a necessary judgement.

Photo Chantal Poirier

“Ultimately, Jordan will ensure that the time frames will be reasonable also for the victims. It will help them to be heard more quickly,” advance Me Annick Murphy, the Director of criminal and penal prosecutions.

The president of the Association québécoise des avocats et avocates de la défense, Me Mia Manocchio, abounds in the same direction, claiming even that this judgment will bring credibility to the judicial system.

Yet, many judicial actors feared for some time, the crisis of the time. The chief justice Fournier even speak of a ” catastrophe “, since his predecessor had already sounded the alarm.

Photo Martin Alarie

Jordan has caused a change of culture, said the associate chief justice of the Court of Québec Danielle Side.

“Jordan has done wrong, but it has led to a real culture change,” says associate chief justice of the Court of Québec Danielle Side. But ministers have made a lot of effort, funds have been awarded, there have been 16 appointments of judges and we have gone to great lengths to reduce delays. “

Fund

But it took several months before the governments appoint the judges, prosecutors and court staff. More than $ 175 million has been injected into the judicial system by the minister Stéphanie Vallée.

“Recently, artists have affair scandalized the budget was granted,” says the chief justice Fournier. I understand, because justice has a budget similar. “

Since then, the DPCP says that the number of active cases before the justice system has drastically dropped, from 108 000 in the spring of 2016 to 65 000 last month.

In proposing offers of settlement and in the meantime the files are complete before bringing charges to avoid delay causes in the course of the road, the delays have decreased, says Me Murphy.

“Jordan has woken up governments, thinning that can be seen is the fruit of all, but now, it is not necessary to go back to sleep, warns, however, the chief justice Fournier. It is necessary to go to the end [of the change]. It is like hockey, you have to play 60 minutes. “

Backlash

Despite the delays in the criminal have been reduced, however, is not rosy, warns the chief judge. Because this is at the expense of the trial in civil and family.

“This is not yet dramatic, but if it continues, it will become more serious “, he explains.

The time, especially at the family level, can cause serious damages to the parents who expect custody of their child, or require the payment of alimony. Because if the waiting time for jury trials has increased from 30 to 17 months, the family have given the long lead times lengthen from 10 to 19 weeks.

“Ultimately, the people will regain trust in the judicial system,” concluded the chief justice Fournier. It is necessary to go to the end. It is a positive thing, but it is not necessary that solutions are just that-temporary. “

Of the notable cases adopted because of Jordan

Photo Chantal Poirier

Salvatore Cazzetta, the alleged head of the Hells Angels, had been arrested in a case of tobacco smuggling, conspiracy and fraud.

Photo Pierre-Paul Poulin

Sivaloganathan Thanabalasingham was accused of having brutally slain his wife Anuja Baskaran. The Crown has brought the appeal.

Christian Blanchet, a businessman, had been accused of fraud, conspiracy and breach of trust in the operation of Gravel for the corruption in Mascouche.

Photo Pierre-Paul Poulin

Lawyers John Bertrand and Robert Talbot were alleged accomplices of the former mayor of Laval, Gilles Vaillancourt.

Photo courtesy

Ryan Wolfson was charged with the murder of Pierre-Paul Fortier and attempted murder on the ex-hockey player Dannick Lessard. As he has already been convicted for murder in the past, he remained incarcerated.

Photo Chantal Poirier

Luigi Corretti, the ex-boss of the firm BCIA accused of fraud, has seen his charges withdrawn by the Crown after having filed a motion for Jordan.

Photo Chantal Poirier

Van son Nguyen was accused of a bloody murder with a machete in a cannabis plantation in Montreal. He was sent back to England.

Photo Kathleen Frenette

Michel Mercier, a fifty-year-old from Saint-Raymond, would have been done, go to the “angel Daniel” in order to sexually abusing a young teenage girl to his entourage.

What is the stop Jordan ?

The name Barrett Richard Jordan, this decision of the supreme Court of Canada limits the waiting time for an accused person on trial. Except exception, among others, depending on the complexity of the case, the ceiling is fixed at 18 months in the Court of Québec and 30 months in the superior Court of Quebec. Delays caused by the defense are excluded from the calculation.

Multiple queries

• 584 requests in criminal matters
• 365 requests in criminal matters
• 130 the decisions made by the courts
• 61 judgments favorable to the accused

A difficult process for victims

Even if relatively few queries “Jordan” were granted to Quebec, the procedures, the uncertainty and the waiting for the results impose a significant stress to the victims and their loved ones.

“We lived through hell,” says the Journal Behice Yanar, the sister of a man who was allegedly killed by mistake in 2013 in the neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges in Montreal.

In February last, the accused had filed an application for unreasonable delay. She finally was rejected in may to the great relief of the relatives of the victim, but they still lived four months extremely difficult.

“It took up all our time, we only thought it, there was no talk of that, one was not sleeping,” says Ms. Yanar. It was foolish. “

Even when she went to weddings or birthdays, she would think of stopping Jordan. His son, worried about the stress of his mother, he has even said that later, he would become a lawyer.

The most difficult to live, she said, was the feeling of helplessness in the face of the situation. She could only read and learn about the judgment in Jordan, knowing that she had no voice in the chapter.

Photo courtesy

Fehmi Sen

Victim

The request of the accused has been rejected, to the great relief of Mrs. Yanar. But because of the accumulated stress, his body has finally unleashed and she had to temporarily stop working to recover, she says.

“Jordan, these are not just numbers, there are humans behind it all,” she adds. Live the process of a query Jordan, I do so wish not even to my worst enemy. “

Denounce

But despite the harshness of the judgment in Jordan, it is very important to report crimes to the police, insists Me Annick Murphy, great patroness of the Director of criminal and penal prosecutions.

“Queries Jordan do not represent 1 % of the active caseload, but we do live in hard stops of the procedures, she said. But it’s going to improve. We are here to help the victims. “

The associate chief justice of the Court of Québec, Danielle Côté, says they also understand the horror of the victims to see the accused escape, thanks to the delays.

“Ultimately, Jordan will ensure that the time frames will be reasonable also for the victims, she argues. It will help them to be heard more quickly, and thus be able to turn the page. “

The chief judge of the superior Court of Quebec Jacques R. Fournier abounds in the same direction, while recalling that we are all working hard to reduce delays, in the interest of the victims and of the general population.

“After all, the system is made for them,” he concludes. And that, it must not be forgotten. “