Trial within a Reasonable Time: Deducting Defence Delay Under R. v. Jordan
In R. v. Cody , 2017 SCC 31, the Supreme Court of Canada provides a useful summary of the R. v. Jordan framework. The new framework established in Jordan for analyzing whether an accused person’s right to a trial within a reasonable time has been breached centres on two presumptive ceilings: 18 months for cases tried in provincial courts and 30 months for cases tried in superior courts. Jordan , at para. 46. The first step under this framework entails “calculating the total delay from the charge to the actual or anticipated end of trial” Jordan , at para. 60. After the total delay is calculated, “delay attributable to the defence must be subtracted” Jordan , at para. 60. The result, or net delay, must then be compared to the applicable presumptive ceiling. The analysis then “depends upon whether the remaining delay — that is, the delay which was not caused by the defence — is above or below the presumptive ceiling” Jordan , at para. 67. Defenc...