Post-Verdict Delay Gets its Own Ceiling: R. v. Jordan
In many criminal cases, particularly the more serious cases, sentencing will, of necessity, take time, sometimes a matter of months. D angerous offender applications, situations in which expert reports are required or extensive evidence is tendered, for instance, significantly lengthen the sentencing process. While the Jordan analysis does apply to post-verdict delay, the presumptive ceilings established in Jordan do not include post-verdict delay. Post-verdict delay, for the purposes of applying a presumptive ceiling, is to be assessed separately from pre-verdict delay and is subject to its own presumptive ceiling. R. v. Charley , 2019 ONCA 726. The Court of Appeal for Ontario in R. v. Charley fixed that ceiling at five months. Five months is the point at which the delay is sufficiently long that it is regarded as presumptively unreasonable for the purposes of s. 11(b). The onus falls to...