Here is my Newmarket Update April 8, 2020.   

Courthouse Cleaning 

Multiple preliminary cleaning reports have been delivered to the appropriate staff and final verification is expected shortly.   Once fully approved,  access to the courthouse by staff will be required a day before operations can restart at the courthouse. A re-opening is now anticipated for some time next week.  

In Custody Matters

Daily remands without a substantive purpose are clogging court lists and taking away valuable time from appropriately scheduled matters.   Time slots from Central East Corrections are extremely valuable and limited and set Region wide. The 5 minutes used by such remands are preventing matters from completing or being appropriately dealt with and scheduled as quickly as possible.  This is an extremely challenging time.  It is not business as usual.

Daily remands without planning or purpose are therefore no longer permitted.  Counsel and DC are to schedule matters in advance through the office of the trial coordinator at the following email address:

Luanne.HergottLewis@ontario.ca

Matters not ready will be adjourned more than 1 day and can be brought back earlier once ready to proceed and properly scheduled.   An updated or revised remand protocol is anticipated shortly.

Counsel are also asked to ensure sureties and counsel are available and on time so that matters can proceed time at the scheduled time.   To maintain the hearing of matters within a time slot, counsel,  duty counsel and crowns are asked to be as efficient as possible, relying on filed documentation over testimony where appropriate. 

Sincerely 

Norman Panzica, York Director,  Criminal Lawyers Association