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Both courts resumed operations within a few months of the first public health orders, delivering some services remotely, and all matters regularly heard by the Supreme Court are now proceeding in person, virtually or by telephone.
But court data indicates the pandemic last year displaced 1,112 trials — 785 civil, 160 criminal and 167 family trials.
Since then, 80 delayed trials have been heard, 456 are scheduled or being heard, and 133 are no longer proceeding.
Hinkson has been lobbying for more judges to be appointed, saying they are needed to deal with the volume of cases.
The provincial bar agreed.
“When parties arrive for a trial date only to have their trial adjourned because there is no judge available to hear it, it will often take 18 months or more to re-schedule,” said Kevin Gourlay, president of the Trial Lawyers Association of B.C.
“The cost to the parties can be significant, and having their rights in limbo can be devastating. Government needs to ensure that B.C.’s courts have a full complement of judges as that will ultimately bring down costs in the system.”
Criminal jury trials resumed on Sept. 8, and 59 were scheduled between then and the end of the year — although many of those were not from the pandemic backlog but had been booked for those dates.
Eleven trials were completed, another is underway, and two ended in mistrial — one due to a hung jury.
Of the criminal jury trials, two were a week or shorter in length, four lasted two weeks, three took three weeks, one took four weeks, one five and one was six.
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