Sep 17: Scott Newark. Hundreds of Criminal Cases May be Thrown Out of Court

Courts in dissaray in Ontario at this time because of staffing issues and health concerns within courtrooms (mold). Hundreds of criminal cases (and maybe more) may be thrown out because of not meeting required timelines from charges being laid to a trial concluded, per the Supreme Court Jordan decision of 2016. Might killers walk?Not the first time. In 2017 a report by the Senate standing committee on legal and constitutional affairs, revealed tens of thousands of criminal cases may have to be thrown out for the same reason.

And then there's the issue of NCR. Not Criminally Responsible. NCR has been a national headlines creating reality and is again in British Columbia with premier David Eby "whitel hot" angry over the release of an NCR psychiatric patient, Blair Evan Donnelly, who stabbed his teenage daughter to death and last weekend stabbed three people at the Light Up Chinatown festival in Vancouver.

Also making news this week, Matthew de Grood of Calgary who stabbed 5 university students to death at a Calgary house party in 2014. de Grood was found to be NCR 2 years later because of undiagnosed schizophrenia and was sent to the Alberta Hospital in Edmonton where he receives ongoing psychiatric treatment. Last year the Alberta Review Board assessed de Grood as a continuing significant threat to the public and not entitiled to an absolute discharge. Now de Grood is appealing to the Supreme Court of Canada in order to gain a conditional discharge with additional freedoms.

Guest: Scott Newark. Former Alberta Crown prosecutor, Fmr executive officer of the Canadian Police Association, Vice-chair of the Ontario Office for Victims of Crime and senior policy advisor to the federal and Ontario Public Safety Ministers.

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