This is my Newmarket OCJ update for May 9, 2020.

OCJ To Expand Hearing Of Criminal Matters 

The Ontario Court of Justice announced on May 4, 2020 that it will not be returning to full operations on May 29, 2020 and in addition, that no trials or preliminary inquiries would be conducted until at least July 6, 2020 at the earliest.

The Ontario Court of Justice has now announced a "limited expansion" effective this Monday May 11, 2020 of the hearing of out of custody criminal matters.  The goal is to accommodate resolutions of for out of custody matters where the Regional Senior Judge is satisfied that the necessary courthouse resources are in place.

The OCJ is also making judicial pre-trials mandatory for all criminal proceedings, including YCJA matters, i) that were scheduled for  trial or preliminary hearing  between March 16, 2020 and July 3, 2020 that was, or will be, adjourned due to the pandemic; and ii) that are scheduled for a trial or preliminary inquiry between July 6, 2020 and October 30, 2020.

It is anticipated that the Court will be posting the updated COVID-19 Notice to Counsel and the Public shortly consolidating  previous directives and providing important updates to the Court’s criminal operations.

Accompanying the updated Notice are two related protocols, one concerning the conduct of bail hearings, and the other for consent variations to bails and undertakings.

I have forwarded the Notice that I have received  to Betty and Janet in order that it can be posted to the YRLA website. It can be found on the website under Court Info/Forms > Criminal. I will send any further updates as they become available. 

Sincerely,

Norman Panzica, York Director, Criminal Lawyers Association