Tag: Timeliness

Posted in: Recent News

Alabama Aims to Prioritise Violent Crime Cases

Alabama’s new Speedy Trial Act offers an insight into the growing recognition of the several benefits of achieving timeliness.  The  Attorney General’s press release features four goals: (1) Prioritizing violent crime cases; (2) Protecting victims and witnesses; (3) Reducing court backlogs; and (4) Strengthening public trust. Prioritising violent crime cases will hopefully have all four effects. The right to a timely trial has always been …

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Posted in: Recent News

The Advocate Article: “Delay and Timeliness: Part III – Obstacles and Implementation”

“The obstacles that are commonly raised against increasing timeliness include the following: more judges and more resources are needed; lawyers lack trial experience and are simply taking too long; the volumes of evidence and complexities of our legal system drive more intensive and longer process; and lawyers and parties are not cooperating in reducing the courts’ work. These objections at bottom reflect the widespread commitment …

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Posted in: Recent News

Cultural Expectations of Timeliness

Andre Picard has led an extended conversation in the Globe and Mail on the many questions respecting the quality of healthcare in Canada.  In Friday, February 7’s column he focusses on two  successful healthcare systems in the Netherlands and Denmark. He observes that virtually all their people have access to primary care, that there is a far more effective distribution of care duties between physicians, …

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Posted in: Recent News

Defence Delays in Fouani Case Highlight Systemic Tug-of-War Between Timeliness and the Choice of Parties

Talal Fouani, 48, was charged in June 2022 for “laundering money for organized crime” in relation to a police investigation “into a massive, cross-border drug trafficking operation involving Mexican cartels.” According to the Alberta police, the $55-million drug bust was the largest ever in Alberta, “involving nearly one metric tonne of methamphetamine and six kilograms of cocaine.” Two weeks after Fouani was charged there was …

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Posted in: Recent News

Re-starting the Clock: When Do We Start Measuring Timeliness

The Provincial Court of BC’s New Small Claims Practice Direction recognises that we should not force parties to start entirely afresh or rejoin the queue when a continuation is necessary or a re-trial has been ordered. This raises the important question of when we should start the clock on timeliness. The new practice direction issued by Chief Judge Melissa Gillespie for all small claims matters …

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