Trial timelines

The Supreme Court of Canada’s 2016 R. v. Jordan decision – often called the ‘Jordan decision’ – establishes timelines that trials must be heard by:

  • 18 months after charges are laid – for a province’s main entry point into the court system (example: Provincial Court of Alberta)
  • 30 months after charges are laid – for a province’s superior court (example: Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta)

Filed applications

Justice and Solicitor General started tracking defence applications – to dismiss cases based on Jordan timelines – on October 25, 2016.

251 Jordan applications have been filed in Alberta courts between October 25, 2016 - December 31, 2019:

  • 5 pending
  • 79 dismissed by the court
  • 24 granted (2 of which are being appealed by the Crown)
  • 50 abandoned by the defence
  • 34 proactively stayed by the Crown (on the basis that they wouldn’t survive a Jordan application)
  • 59 resolved (unrelated to Jordan)

Resources

Triage Practice Protocol – for Crown prosecutors