Calgary Criminal Defence Lawyers Association (CDLA) Practice and Procedure Committee Update Submitted by Michael Dinkel, Chairman – March 8, 2009
Highlights:
· Remand Center Visit
· The Court Case Management Project (CCM) and The Provincial Implementation Committee (PIC)
· CDLA Meeting Reminder – Next Meeting Tuesday, March 10th at 12:30 p.m. in the Barrister’s Lounge
· Remand Center Visit and CCTV Issues
On March 4th Al Fay and myself, Mike Dinkel, attended at the Calgary Remand Center to meet with the Deputy Director of Operations Kim Canning, the Assistant Deputy Director of Operations Mark Baecker, Paddy Barker of the Remand Center, Basem Hage from Court Services and Assistant Chief Judge (ACJ) Wilkins. The intent of the meeting was to discuss a number of concerns that had been raised by defence counsel with respect to issues such as accessing clients via CCTV and by telephone. The following is a list of the issues discussed and the solutions that were agreed upon:
1. CCTV Hours:
There has been a great deal of discussion amongst defence counsel as to the actual times that clients can be accessed via CCTV. We were able to confirm that the start time is 8:00 a.m. and the finish time is 8:00 p.m. Monday to Friday. Remand Staff will be present from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. After 4:00 p.m., defence counsel should contact the Shift Manager at 403-695-2116 or 403-695-2117 to make arrangements to meet with a client over CCTV. In addition, the Shift Manager should be contacted on those occasions where Remand Staff are not present prior to 4:00 p.m.
2. CCTV Interviews of Clients Not Appearing in Court that Day:
Due to the overcrowded CCTV holding facilities at Remand, there will be no access to clients not scheduled for Court until after 1:00 p.m. We continue to negotiate with the Deputy Director and the Assistant Deputy Director for access to our clients between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on those occasions where Staff is available and the number of inmates scheduled for Court that day has decreased sufficiently so as not to create a safety concern. This would be at the discretion of the Remand Staff. We will update you on any progress on this issue when further information becomes available.
3. Inmate Access to Defence Counsel Contact Information:
Concerns have been raised by both defence counsel and inmates about the availability of phonebooks in the Remand Units. Often the phonebooks that are available are either outdated or they are missing the pages that reference lawyers. In an attempt to alleviate this problem, we intend to create a list of defence counsel names and phone numbers that will be provided to Remand and will be updated on a semi-annual basis. Any defence counsel who wish to have their names on this list should forward their contact information to myself, Mike Dinkel, at dinkel@platinum.ca A laminated copy of the list will be posted in each Unit at the Remand Center. The first list will be forwarded to the Remand Center no later than March 31st.
4. Inmate Requests to Call Counsel:
For the benefit of counsel it should be noted that specific “Zone Times” are currently in place for inmates to contact counsel. Requests to contact counsel outside of those Zone Times are not typically granted.
5. Messages for Remand Clients:
The current system for contacting Remand clients by phone is to leave a message with the Front Desk Commissionaire asking that the inmate contact counsel. This approach rarely results in a return phone call from the client. In an attempt to solve this problem the Deputy Director has requested that all defence counsel make their requests for return phone calls directly to the Shift Manager. To request that a client call you, please contact the Shift Manager at 403-695-2116 or 403-695-2117. This cuts out the Commissionaire at the Front Desk and should increase the likelihood of a return call. Remand Staff have assured us that every effort will be made by the Shift Manager to see that all messages are passed on in a timely manner.
6. In Person Interview Times
For those who attend the Remand Center in person to interview their clients, we can confirm the following information:
- Interviews with clients can take place seven days a week from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
The suggested “best times” for interviews are as follows:
- Monday to Friday: 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
- Weekends: 1:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
It should be noted that during inmate meals interview access will be limited. Meals are served at the following times:
- Monday to Friday: 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- Weekends: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
In addition, the inmates are involved in a “Clothing Exchange” each Saturday and Sunday morning, which will also limit access.
7. Sentence Calculation:
When defence counsel need to obtain information regarding CSO or Time in Custody calculations, it is best to have your client fill out an “Inmate Request Form” and submit that to Sentence and Administration who will provide a response in a timely fashion. Please do not leave this until the last day before your client’s court appearance.
8. Seeing Clients After CCTV Court Appearances
If defence counsel require a meeting with their client after a CCTV appearance, this can be arranged by simply making the request of the Remand Staff at the end of the court appearance, while you are still in front of the judge. ACJ Wilkins has advised that the Judges will be directed to approve of that process; an Order from the Presiding Judge is not necessary. It should be noted that all post-court interviews will be conducted with the client being placed first into a cell until counsel is present and then being placed into a CCTV interview room. It is requested that whenever defence counsel are making this request that they return to the Barrister’s Lounge in a timely fashion to interview their client. Concerns have been raised by Remand Staff that inmates have at times been left to wait for hours before being seen by their lawyer. This creates problems for the Remand Staff as it contributes to the overcrowding in the tanks that hold the CCTV inmates. Please make every effort to meet with your client within 15 minutes of your court appearance. Failure to do so may result in your client being returned to their cell and no longer being accessible until after 1:00 p.m. that day.
9. Request by Counsel to Have Their Client Remain at The Calgary Remand Center:
Finally, in situations where defence counsel require their client to be returned to Remand prior to an in-custody trial, a fax request can be made to the Director of Operations at 403-695-2071. However, due to overcrowding at Remand, it is recommended that defence counsel only make this request where absolutely necessary. All decisions will be at the discretion of the Director.
It is the sincere hope of the Practice and Procedure that the information provided above will help to inform younger counsel and result in greater certainty for all counsel when dealing with issues related to the Calgary Remand Center. Should you have any questions or concerns regarding these or other issues related to the Remand Center, please contact your Practice and Procedure Committee Members Al Fay, Mitch Stephensen and Mike Dinkel.
· The Court Case Management Project (CCM) and The Provincial Implementation Committee (PIC)
1. CCM Business Analysis Meetings and Recommendations:
One of the key starting points for an undertaking as large as the CCM Project is a Business Analysis Mapping Session. The approach is to first map each and every process that occurs from the time of an individual’s arrest to the conclusion of the case and the termination of all paperwork. Once the mapping has been completed all interested parties meet to discuss how the entire process can be improved. The Business Analysis Meetings for the CCM took place over the course of seven days in Edmonton and included representatives from the Hearing Office, the Justices of the Peace, the Clerks, Court Services, the Crown and the Defence Bar. When I was available, I attended on behalf of the Defence Bar via teleconference call from Calgary. Over seven days, the Analysis Team reviewed approximately 1400 different business processes and made 66 recommendations, 48 of which were short term and 18 of which were long term. These recommendations were presented to the members of the Provincial Implementation Committee during a half day meeting which took place on March 3, 2009. A number of the recommendations were accepted immediately by PIC and others that are more long term will be developed over time.
The general themes of these recommendations were as follows (as per Project Coordinator Jessica Nedohin):
· Standardization of business practices between Edmonton and Calgary. This includes the use of forms and reports to minimize manual efforts and increase consistency.
o Benefits: interchangeability of resources and similar work efforts
· Docket Court times and resources allocated to meaningful events requiring appropriate staffing. JP counters and the length of adjournments as ways to achieve this.
o Benefits: This will increase access to justice for stakeholders. Makes one more courtroom available in each Calgary and Edmonton to deal with meaningful acts. Reduces lead times.
· Assignment Courts to determine which matters are going ahead.
· Remote booking of all matters to be confirmed by the Case Management Office.
o Shared benefit of Assignment Courts and remote bookings: Reducing manual processes will free up resources (7 full time employees provincially), which will increase productivity, access to justice, accuracy and decreasing duplication of processes and handling of files
· Eliminating duplicate entry by expanding the use of software, reducing/eliminating downtime, and increasing the use of interfaces. Use of technology such as websites to host
o Benefits: Freed resources from entering documentation in multiple locations. Eliminates delays associated with resolving incomplete documentation from agencies.
· All court files to be in electronic form. Electronic documentation to be initiated at the beginning of the process and to continue throughout.
o Benefits: Freed resources (4 full time employees provincially) will be redeployed to JP counter and courtrooms, increases of service levels and allows better access to justice.
The recommendations are intended to increase the efficiency of the justice system. From a defence perspective many of the administrative recommendations do not relate directly to us (such as the move to electronic documentation), but they will make the general operation of the justice system more efficient. Defence counsel will be more interested in recommendations that will address their own day to day functioning such as the advent of the JP Counter for first appearances. The intent is to allow counsel to attend a first appearance JP Counter between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. to adjourn matters or set dates. This will reduce time spent in docket courts and give counsel more freedom as to when to appear at the JP Counter. Another way to reduce time spent in docket courts will be the use of remote booking wherein Crown and defence can book trial dates via their PDA’s or office computers. There has also been discussion about trying to arrange remote appearances by defence counsel at circuit courts. This would eliminate the need to hire agents or actually have to travel to out of town courts for brief appearances. Two of the more controversial recommendations are the Assignment Courts (these are clearing house courtrooms where it is first determined if a case is ready to go ahead and, if it is, the case is then shipped off to a courtroom and a waiting judge) and the suggestion that all bail hearings be heard in front of Justices of the Peace. As your defence bar representative, I have expressed concern over both of these recommendations and advised the Business Analysis Team that we will continue to press for alternatives to the Assignment Courts and access to bail hearings in front of Provincial Court Judges.
As soon as I have approval to release the final set of recommendations, they will be forwarded to all CDLA members.
2. March 25th Defence Bar Forum in the Barrister’s Lounge:
On March 25, 2009 at 12:30 p.m. there will be an Open Forum on the Court Case Management Project for all members of the Calgary Defence Bar. This meeting will serve to update Calgary defence counsel on the progress of the Court Case Management Project and allow for discussion of the recommendations that have come out of the Business Analysis Mapping Meetings. Deputy Chief Judge Lefever and Assistant Deputy Minister Greg Lepp, Q.C. will be present. It is expected that a presentation will be made and then the panel will be open to questions from the floor. We hope to serve a light lunch, so in order to determine the size of our food order, please RSVP to Mike Dinkel at dinkel@platinum.ca to confirm your attendance. We look forward to a large turnout for this meeting.
3. Court Case Management Newsletter for March:
The next issue should be out by mid-March and will be forwarded to all members as soon as it is available.
4. Crown File Ownership Business Analysis Meetings:
As stated in my last update, the intention with this portion of the CCM Project is for a single Crown Prosecutor to maintain conduct of a file from beginning to end. The Business Analysis Meetings for the Crown File Ownership Project will take place in Calgary from March 19th to March 27th from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This process will be similar to that employed by the Business Analysis Mapping Team, but will only relate to the Crown File Ownership Project. Many of the same stakeholders that were at the Edmonton meetings will be in attendance at the Calgary meetings. I have advised the Project Team that I will attempt to make myself available for as much of the process as possible, subject to my court commitments. Should any other member of the Calgary Defence Bar be available to attend these meetings and actually be interested in doing so, please contact me as soon as possible. The Project Managers have requested that the same person attend for all seven days, so as to create a sense of continuity. In addition, they are seeking an individual who is senior enough to comment on all of the day to day court procedures that affect defence counsel. At this point in time, there is no compensation available for the individual who attends.
5. Anyone wanting to look at the CCM in more detail can access the following links:
For a message from Deputy Chief Judge Lefever go to:
http://www.albertacourts.ab.ca/Portals/ext/pc/Message%20from%20DCJ%20Allan%20Lefever.pdf
For an Executive Summary of the Project go to:
http://www.albertacourts.ab.ca/Portals/ext/pc/Executive%20Summary%20document.pdf
For a copy of the CCM Project Charter go to:
http://www.albertacourts.ab.ca/Portals/ext/pc/CCM%20Project%20Charter.pdf
· CDLA Meeting Reminder:
The next meeting of the CDLA will be on Tuesday, March 10th. Members are reminded that meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month at 12:30 p.m. in the Conference Room in the Barrister’s Lounge on the 4th Floor of the Courthouse.
· Final Remarks
Your Practice and Procedure Committee continues to devote their time and energy to bringing about positive change to practice in Provincial Court. We appreciate the feedback we have been receiving from all members of the CDLA. In a group of our size it is difficult for all of us to agree on each and every issue. It is our ability to respect each person’s point of view that allows us to have productive discussions at our meetings and in the hallways of the Courthouse. Please feel free to voice those opinions to your Committee Members on an ongoing basis and we will do our best to represent the interests of all Defence Counsel.
Respectfully submitted by,
Michael C. Dinkel
dinkel@platinum.ca
Friday, March 13, 2009
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