New Brunswick looking at new measures to clear court backlogs

The Fredericton Courthouse is shown in this photo. The province has been dealing with increasing wait times for years, particularly in its lower courts.As New Brunswick looks to ease the burden on the legal system, a Fredericton defence lawyer says one of the biggest challenges in clearing backlogs in the provincial court system is a lack of courtroom space.

“If I were to go in today and enter a not guilty plea for a client not in custody, they are waiting till next year for their trial and I mean May 2025 or April 2025,” she said.The province is trying to address the issue with several proposed changes. Last year the number of Crown prosecutors was increased by 50 per cent and more recently, a pair of proposed bills look to divert some matters from provincial court.

“Justice delayed is justice denied and we were reaching a situation in the provincial court system that the waiting times were just growing and growing,” he said.Cochrane says the idea is an interesting one and may help, but says the biggest impediment remains the lack of physical space, particularly in the capital region.“It’s always great to have more bodies, but where are we going to put them?” she said.

Source: Law Daily Report (lawdailyreport.net)

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