Defense lawyers work overtime to tackle trial delays

Criminal cases in Quebec are normally given a trial date within a month or two of an initial arrest, but the justice system is experiencing a significant delay, after the province shut down for several months due to the pandemic.
Trials originally fixed between April and September are being pushed back to 2021, according to Julie Beauchemin, a criminal defense lawyer and partner at Beauchemin Fleury Pharand Law Firm in Lac-Mégantic.
One of her clients, who is currently detained, had their trial moved to next May. They are in a very precarious situation, the lawyer explained, but they don’t fall under the Jordan decision, which states a trial can be set aside due to unreasonable delay.

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