R. v. Jordan: Bypassing the Preliminary Inquiry doesn't Affect 30-Month Ceiling
Section 11(b) of the Charter provides: “Any person charged with an offence has the right … (b) to be tried within a reasonable time”. R. v. Jordan , 2016 SCC 27 established a new framework for the s. 11(b) analysis. It was designed to be simple in its application and predictable in its effect. It replaced the framework articulated in R. v. Morin , [1992] 1 S.C.R. 771, which the majority in the Supreme Court described as too unpredictable, too confusing, and too complex. R. v. Jordan , 2016 SCC 27, [2016] 1 S.C.R. 631, at para. 38. The Jordan framework is now well-understood. At the centre of the new framework is a “presumptive ceiling” on the time between the date of the charges and the actual or anticipated end of the trial. Delay beyond that ceiling is presumptively unreasonable. Jordan , at para. 46. For cases tried in provincial courts, the ceiling is 18 months. For cases tried in superior courts, or in provinci...