Separate Trials Where Accused to be Tried on both Adult and Young Offender Indictments
The Youth Criminal Justice Act does not permit the joint trial of one individual on both adult and young offender indictments. The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) is the law that governs Canada's youth justice system. It applies to youth who are at least 12 but under 18 years old, who are alleged to have committed criminal offences In R. v. S.J.L., 2009 SCC 14, [2009] 1 S.C.R. 426, the Supreme Court of Canada held that the YCJA does not permit the joint trial of a young person and an adult. The principle upon which S.J.L. rests precludes the joint trial of a young offender indictment and an adult indictment involving the same accused: R. v. P.M.C, 2016 ONCA 829. Writing for the majority in S.J.L., Deschamps J. held, at para. 72, that “it can be stated definitively that ‘[t]he youth justice system is separate from the adult system, with separate courts, judges and rules’ (L. Tustin and R. E. Lutes, A Guide to the Youth Criminal Justice Act (2005), at p. 29).” She ...