Brampton man's human trafficking charges thrown out due to lengthy delays
A man has had his human trafficking charges dismissed as a result of delays at Toronto Superior Court, attributed to the federal Liberals' ongoing inability to appoint an adequate number of judges.
This is now the second time this year that someone has had human trafficking charges thrown out due to delays.
As reported by the Toronto Star, Marlon Downey's case is the latest instance of a growing number of criminal cases that collapse at the downtown courthouse due to vacancies. The delays have led to disruptions which one judge has called an "embarrassment to the administration of justice."
Multiple serious cases have been thrown including cases of child sexual abuse, firearms possession linked to a fatal shooting, and sexual assault. Among them is another human trafficking case involving Downey and a separate complainant, which was dismissed in January.
According to the Supreme Court, cases in the Superior Court must be heard within 30 months; failure to do so results in the dismissal of the case, as it violates an accused individual's constitutional right to a trial within a reasonable timeframe.
Liberal Party 'overwhelmingly' appoints party donors as judges: report - Rebel News https://t.co/z7XxrpTeh4
— friedmansowell (@friedmansowell1) August 10, 2023
As further detailed in the Star, Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Penman tossed the charges against Downey's second case and wrote that “the most significant contributing factor to the overall delay in this case was a systemic lack of judicial resources.”
Downey's previous case, held in June of last year, was adjourned due to a lack of judge. A second trial date was set for later this month. Without counting delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, it was found that 33 months had passed since Downey was charged in November 2020.
“There was no moratorium on judicial vacancies being filled during the pandemic,” Penman wrote in her decision released on Monday. “There is no reason why vacancies which have existed since before the pandemic could not have been filled at a faster pace than what we have seen.”
Downey had another human trafficking case that was stayed in January after his trial judge was elevated to the Court of Appeal.
No other judge was immediately available. The case landed at the feet of Justice Todd Ducharme, who did not have time available to him to hear the case due to other matters.
In dismissing the case, Ducharme noted that the prolongation of criminal proceedings due to a trial judge's promotion to a higher court “has been seriously exacerbated by the slow pace of judicial appointments by the federal government” to the Superior Court.
Amid ongoing calls to urgently fill judicial vacancies, court watchers have pressed the federal government to bolster transparency on judicial appointees' apparent partisanship.
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) August 15, 2023
FULL STORY: https://t.co/ro5qVhcH0G pic.twitter.com/Q0dMbAMZBx
The problem is not a new one. Judicial vacancies have plagued the justice system for years now, but the number of cases being thrown has reached an all-time high in Toronto, The Star reports.
On November 25, 2020, Downey, 26, of Brampton, was arrested and charged with:
1. Procuring
2. Exercising Control
3. Trafficking in persons by recruiting, transporting, and harbouring
4. Material Benefit from Sexual Services
5. Utter threat of bodily harm
6. Financial and Material benefit resulting from trafficking in persons
7. Theft Over $5000
8. Trafficking in Persons Exercise Control
9. Assault
10. Threaten Death
11. Criminal Harassment
12. Unlawfully in a Dwelling
13. Possession of Cocaine
14. Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Cocaine
15. Possession of Fentynal
16. Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Fentynal
The defence lawyer for Downey did not respond to a request for comment from the Toronto Star.
