CRIM 131 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Drug Court, Traditional Courts In Malawi, Umbrella Organization
6 Jun 2018
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Department
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Professor
Lecture 7: Criminal Courts Monday 5th March
Chapter 7: The Structure and Operation of Criminal Courts
●Play an important, multi-faceted role in Canada’s CJS
○Activities remain kind of a mystery as the work that goes on in courts is less visible
than that of the police
●Legal issues are more complex and workloads are harder (could potentially be impacted
by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms)
●Must determine guilt or innocence of an accused, must ensure their rights
●Imposing sentences and that it is appropriate (follows guidelines and rights)
●Falls under due process model, protect individuals rights
Crime funnel: a lot of people that come in contact in this point can be dismissed, can occur for
example with the use of diversion programs
●Judicial independence- principle in which the courts work under. Citizens have the right
to have their own cases tried by tribunals that are fair, impartial, and immune from
political interference
●No uniform court system in Canada
Four levels of court that deal with criminal cases (except Nunavut):
1. Provincial and territorial courts
2. Provincial and territorial superior courts
3. Provincial and territorial appellate courts
4. Supreme Court of Canada (highest court of all jurisdictions)
Most frequently heard cases in criminal court:
●Impaired driving
●Theft
●Common assault
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• Tend to review the most ‘boring’ but common cases
Provincial and Territorial Court System
●Lowest level of court (nearly all cases begin and end here)
●Judges are provincially or territorially appointed
●Composed by a ‘bench’, bench trial
Bench trials- trials that are not heard by the jury, other levels of court have option to get
either a bench trial or a jury trial
●No juries
●Have jurisdiction over most criminal offences, traffic violations, and provincial or territorial
regulatory offences
●Judges in these courts are increasingly hearing more serious cases (may have preliminary
sentences)
●House almost everything, however doesn’t mean that they are a unified system
Provincial and territorial specialized problem-solving courts
What is it? Specialized courts that are designed to divert offenders with special needs from the
CJS
●Deal with almost all criminal cases
●Oversee youth, statute violations, and give entry to many cases as preliminary hearings
occurs at provincial courts
Defining attributes:
1. Addressing underlying problems of offenders, victims, and the community
2. Interagency and interdisciplinary collaboration
3. Accountability to the community
●Shift to treatment and rehabilitation
●Incorporate therapeutic justice- use of law and authority of the court as change agents
in promoting the health and well-being of offenders while ensuring their legal rights are
protected and that justice is done
●Eligibility criteria can vary (depending on seriousness of offence, etc.)
Shift in Courts
•Has shifted over the year
•Understanding that not all offenders are alike
•Offenders based on case type, condition type, etc. might need specialized treatment
•Mentally ill offenders, Drug addicts have better outcomes if treated and seen by specialists
○Process departs from adversarial system but it tends to be more informal
○Uses a specialized, problem-solving, team-based approach
•Specialized courts try to specialize on the roots of the problem (therapeutic jurisprudence)
○Involved staff are called agents of change
○Emphasis on dialogue
○Similar to restorative justice
○Focus on support and assistance instead of shame and blame
•Lack of resources and research to evaluate them
•High rates of non-completion
•Advocation for a Unified Family Court (not an official specialized court)
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○Recognizes that family as a unit isn’t immune to repercussion in their daily life
○Judge that oversees a ruling in one thing, oversees the ruling in everything
Drug Treatment Courts (DTC)
●Alternative forum for offenders with drug-related offences
●Non-adversarial with attempt to link suspects with treatment programs and services
●Avoid incarceration by agreeing to specific conditions
●DTC cases are determined by the Crown counsel
●Traditional roles played in court are altered in DTC
●Relapses must be reported
●Failure to abide with conditions sends offenders back to regular courts
Mental Health Court (MHC)
●Reduce criminalization of persons with mental illnesses (operating and pre- and post-
charge stage)
●Addressing this issue more urgent since deinstitutionalization
●Concern is the absence of community-based resources
●Participation is voluntary and offenders must accept guilt (excludes sexual offences)
●Generally a very helpful program, however many dropout
Vancouver Downtown Community Court (DCC)
●Addresses the need of residents in the Downtown Eastside area
●Goal to reduce crime and recidivism
●Also focuses on improving public safety and justice efficiencies
Effectiveness of Specialized Courts
●High rates of non-compliance of conditions and non-completion of programs
●Difficulty attracting Aboriginal communities
●Still need of research to establish various relationships
●Some research suggests this might be a good alternative to traditional courts
●Most effective with dealing with reoffending when RNR principles are used
Traditional Courts
Problem-Solving Courts
Adversarial and Legalistic
Therapeutic and Restorative
Anonymous and Impersonal
Personalized
Little collaboration between agencies
Collaborative
Offence focused
Offender focused
Sanction focused
Problem focused
Generic supervision
Individualized supervision
Minimal community involvement
Community involvement
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Document Summary
Chapter 7: the structure and operation of criminal courts. Play an important, multi-faceted role in canada"s cjs. Activities remain kind of a mystery as the work that goes on in courts is less visible than that of the police. Legal issues are more complex and workloads are harder (could potentially be impacted by the charter of rights and freedoms) Must determine guilt or innocence of an accused, must ensure their rights. Imposing sentences and that it is appropriate (follows guidelines and rights) Falls under due process model, protect individuals rights. Crime funnel: a lot of people that come in contact in this point can be dismissed, can occur for example with the use of diversion programs. Judicial independence- principle in which the courts work under. Citizens have the right to have their own cases tried by tribunals that are fair, impartial, and immune from political interference.
