Multiple mental health-related conditions are causing delays in B.C.’s court system, violating the right to a speedy trial and potentially allowing people to be released.
This is the first article in a five-part series examining how mental health issues are prevalent in British Columbia’s courts. We first consider criminal suspects, then move on to how courts operate, then examine lawyers and court staff, and finally outline possible solutions.
Andrew Jordan Norfield, who was locked up in a prison cell at Vancouver District Court surrounded by safety glass, had expected a verdict, but found his case had been delayed.
He was charged with possession of stolen goods, dangerous driving and failing to stop at the time of an accident. He was detained for 179 days and was assessed as mentally fit to stand trial in February, but a second similar assessment was ordered in May.
“I am fit to stand trial,” Norfield shouted, violently kicking the pier door and swearing at the court.
As a result, a sheriff’s deputy pressed a silent alarm and called for help. Then the sheriff arrived.
The cause of the delay was a lack of beds for pre-sentence mental health examinations at B.C.’s Forensic Psychiatric Hospital (FPH).
Judge Patrick Doherty asked questions following the incident.
“Why was he brought in person today?” he asked.
“There seems to be a lot wrong with this young man, and we’re just starting to unravel it,” he said. “That is unacceptable. He should have been sentenced today.”
Situations like this are not uncommon in B.C. courts.
A similar scene occurred again on July 21, when two cases were adjourned within 20 minutes. The psychiatric report was not ready to proceed with the case due to backlog. Three days later, the same situation happened again.
A pre-sentence report scheduled for August 9 in the 2022 manslaughter case was filed on October 21. Judge David St. Pierre called the situation “ridiculous.”
This situation leaves the defendant and the victim’s family at a loss.
In some cases, the accused may be in solitary confinement but deemed unfit to be brought to court. It is not uncommon for some prisoners to find their cells smeared with their own excrement.
In the long run, this situation is part of a larger mental health problem that appears to be plaguing B.C.’s courts.
mental health concerns
This situation is not new. The federal government has known for more than a decade about the difficulties defendants face.
“Canadians with a mental illness or substance use disorder are nine times more likely to be referred to the police for an emotional, mental health or substance use problem than Canadians without a mental illness or substance use problem. and are four times more likely to be arrested,” said then-Federal Attorney-General and Minister of Justice David Lametti. Statement for November 2022.
The following report from the John Howard Society Opening the door to change: Decriminalizing mental health issues in Ontariosaid the criminal justice system has become a warehouse for people whose mental health problems go untreated or undetected in the community.
“When the medical system fails to treat mental illness, the criminal justice system ends up punishing the symptoms,” the association said.
Mental health and the courts are one of the many issues UBC law professor Benjamin Perrin addresses in his new book, Prosecution: Trials in the Criminal Justice System.
“Our criminal justice system is facing an existential crisis,” he said.
He quotes Dalhousie University law professor Adelina Iften as saying, “Criminal justice has become the asylum of the century.”
The Federal Bureau of Correctional Investigation’s 2015-2016 annual report bears that out.
A report to then-Secretary of Public Safety Ralph Goodale said: “For the severely mentally ill and addicted, a prison sentence is the modern equivalent of being sent to a psychiatric hospital.”
Additionally, Perrin told Glacier Media that courts often fail people with mental health issues. Because they lead disorderly lives, they cannot go to court and end up facing further charges.
This question comes up again and again when lawyers discuss sentencing in Vancouver District Court. Judges have repeatedly heard that if a person convicted of a crime is subject to conditions that they cannot meet because of mental health issues, those conditions should not acquit them.
Still, charges for violating court-ordered conditions and failing to appear have become a standard feature of daily court filings.
Mr Perrin said it was a coercive and punitive system that reinforced punishments rather than addressing the root causes when it came to people with mental health problems.
He said re-sentencing can be devastating for mentally ill people because it only perpetuates their passage through court.
“The criminal justice system is fundamentally flawed because it fails to achieve its primary purpose by incarcerating people who experience mental health distress and carry unresolved trauma,” Perrin said. “In fact, it is actually being impeded.”
Psychiatric evaluation and judicial services
Additionally, a lack of psychiatric beds for face-to-face evaluations prior to sentencing or trial, a backlog of pre-sentence reports waiting to be prepared, and underfunding of the so-called Gladue system have also affected the efficiency of the system in serving the public. It’s having a negative impact. For pre-sentence reports for Indigenous offenders.
If you appear in a criminal case in local court, the judge may order you to undergo a mental health evaluation. Evaluations can begin overnight, or longer-term evaluations may be ordered to determine suitability for the exam situation.
Such assessments are also available at multiple correctional facilities through BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services.
According to Provincial Health Services (PHSA) statistics, the nightly assessment figures for the past four years are as follows:
• 2020 – 282;
• 2021 – 295;
• 2022 – 335; and
• 2023 – 107 so far
And here are the fitness rating numbers:
• 2018/19 – 255
• 2019/20 – 154
• 2020/21 – 97
• 2021/22 – 143
• 2022/23 – 124
It is worth noting that 2020-2021 was the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the mental health of the general population was a concern.
Data from the state’s JUSTIN court database provided by the state government shows that between 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, psychiatric evaluations jumped from 903 to 1,087, followed by 669 in each of the following years. , settled on 656 and 673 cases.
Many of the lawsuits from the early days of the pandemic are still pending in court.
However, according to the 2021-2022 B.C. ~By 2022, these numbers have decreased to 47,924 and 45,500, respectively.
Therefore, no matter which metrics are used, as the pandemic progressed, criminal cases decreased and psychiatric evaluations increased.
Right to speedy trial
What does this mean for the average British Columbian?
When you add the effects of the pandemic to mental health and reporting delays, another issue emerges: the right to expedited court hearings.
This is where the name Jordan comes into play, and it has recently become a frequent occurrence in British Columbia courts.
In July 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada decided an important appeal. R. v. Jordan. The high court has set a time limit for criminal trials, saying they should end within 18 or 30 months of indictment, depending on the type of trial.
If that doesn’t happen, the charges may be stayed or the conviction vacated.
It is now common in British Columbia courts for cases to drag on for thousands of days. Defendants may appear in court if a judge determines that their right to a speedy trial under Jordan has been violated.
legal aid
Legal representation in court, including legal aid, remains a thorny issue and has been studied repeatedly in British Columbia and Canada.
Legal Aid BC CEO Michael Bryant addressed mental health in an April letter to Lametti.
“Most of Canada’s criminal dockets today are reams of overcharging, overincarceration, and underrepresentation of people who are underrepresented by race, poverty, mental health, or addiction,” he said. Stated. “And because those who are thrown to the wolves are an anonymized, diffused, statistically small, politically weak, and highly stigmatized minority.”
forensic psychiatric hospital
The hospital is operated by the Forensic Psychiatric Services Board, which operates six regional Forensic Psychiatric Services clinics. The commission conducts fitness assessments of people in court and provides treatment to those found not guilty on grounds of mental illness.
The facility has added 190 beds since 2017, according to PHSA.
Despite the increasing need for psychiatric evaluations as the number of criminal cases decreases, courts have had problems implementing psychiatric evaluations due to a lack of resources.
The court has repeatedly heard that the hospital’s bed shortage has remained at 190 beds since 2017.
PHSA began cutting forensic services in 2002-2003 with a March 15, 2002 document noting that cost reductions could impact public safety. At the same time, FPH was anticipating an influx of patients due to the pending closure of the Vancouver Pretrial Center.
The number of psychiatrists at the hospital increased from 10 to 11 from 2017 to 2021 to 16 from 2022 to 2023, according to PHSA. The ratio then decreased to 14 in 2021-2022 and 14 in 2023-2024. The number of psychiatrists available in correctional health services will be 12 in 2023-2024, the same as in 2021-2022. That number dropped to nine last year.
