Summary of Meetings: Criminal Justice - Victoria
Number of Meetings Held:5
September 16, 2020
Registration Count: 18
Guest Speaker: The Honourable Judge Carmen Rogers, Administrative Judge for Vancouver Island Elizabeth Thors, Sr. Manager, Court Administration Victoria Court House Joel Gold, Deputy Regional Crown Counsel Leslie Baskerville, Victoria Administrative Crown Counsel
Meeting Title/Topic: Back to Business in COVID Times
Synopsis: As we settled into the new norm of court during COVID 19, it was hard to keep up with all the changes. This panel, consisting of The Honourable Judge Carmen Rogers, Administrative Judge for Vancouver Island, Elizabeth Thors, Sr. Manager, Court Administration Victoria Court House, Joel Gold, Crown Counsel, and Leslie Baskerville, Crown Counsel, provided up-to-date information on how the Victoria court house has modified and adapted during the pandemic.
Some topics that were discussed included: file flow from charge to conclusion, how trials are running and options for witnesses to testify, how initial appearance court has been running, youth and intergrated court returning, virtual courtroom for bail and short dispositions, and how these chages will continue into the future.
November 04, 2020
Registration Count: 17
Guest Speaker: Blair Spencer, Local Manager, Victoria Community Corrections Tami Collishaw, Assistant Deputy Warden, VIRCC Gillian Lindquist, Executive Director, Restorative Justice Victoria
Meeting Title/Topic: Offender Programming 2020
Synopsis: Which programming is currently available for offenders and how it is being delivered in 2020.
November 25, 2020
Registration Count: 17
Guest Speaker: Joe Doyle, QC Rebecca McConchie David Layton, Q.C., head of the BCPS appeals group and co-author of the textbook “Ethics and Criminal Law”
Meeting Title/Topic: Ethics & Criminal Practice in 2020
Synopsis: We heard from distinguished guests Chris Johnson, Q.C. (Lead defence counsel in the Surrey Six trial), and David Layton, Q.C. (head of the BCPS appeals group and co-author of the textbook “Ethics and Criminal Law”), as they addressed contemporary ethical issues in the practice of criminal law.
January 27, 2021
Registration Count: 46
Guest Speaker: The Honourable Judge Roger Cutler - Sitting Judge in the Indigenous Court, Duncan Elder and Mentor Mark Atleo and Vanessa Ramsdale - South Island Wellness Society Leah Fontaine - BC Prosecution Service Mitchell Walker - Director of Gladue Services- BC First Nations Justice Counsel
Meeting Title/Topic: Criminal Justice and the Indigenous Offender
Synopsis: On January 15, 2021 the BC Prosecution Service introduced new and revised policies that require Crown Counsel to pay particular attention to the circumstances of Indigenous offenders and especially at the charge approval, resolution, and sentencing stage. Our panel discussed these changes and some of the criminal justice and Indigenous community services that can be accessed by counsel to pursue this goal.
February 17, 2021
Registration Count: 16
Guest Speaker: Judge Karina Sacca Judge Wendy Bernt
Meeting Title/Topic: A View from the Bench
Synopsis: Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a Provincial Court Judge? What it would be like to preside over Criminal matters coming from a Family Law background? What it takes to be a Judge in a small community or deal with judging remotely during the Covid19 pandemic? We discussed what life is like on the Bench from recent appointments with Judge Karina Sacca and Judge Wendy Bernt.