A recent report prepared by a Superior Court Judge has found that 20 years after the Corrections and Conditional Release Act required it, the endorsements of Judges regarding prison classifications, treatment programs and other key information are still not being passed along to correctional authorities in the majority of cases.
Justice Gans described the technology being used to relay key information between the courts and the jails as “horse and buggy” describing the situation as “startling”.
The outrageous state of communication in Ontario’s justice system should come as grave concern to clients who are facing potential jail sentences. It is vital that lawyers be aware of the serious ongoing failures of the system and insist on the steps necessary to overcome those shortcomings so that their clients can get the full benefit of an accurate set of facts along with any remedial recommendations made by the sentencing Judge. Our lawyers are taking steps to have critical documentation physically stapled to the warrant of remand to ensure that clients get a full and fair hearing before prison classification authorities and their parole board hearings.
A failure to take these steps could leave you facing only the information the police want the prison to hear.
By: Edward Prutschi