Court Site Study of Adult Unrepresented Accused in the Provincial Criminal Courts (Part 2: Site Reports)

Chapter 3: Halifax, Nova Scotia (continued)

3.3 Frequency of accused appearing without representation

3.3.1 Self-representation over the life of the case

Given the general perception that not having representation has significant implications for the accused, it is important to understand how frequently self-represented accused appear at different stages of the court process.

It is apparent from the Disposed Cases file that it is not possible to characterize representation over the life of a case in any simple manner; an accused's representation status will often change from one appearance to the next, as, for example, when an accused may be represented by duty counsel at the bail hearing, but be self-represented afterwards.

Looking at the pattern of representation over all appearances:

The Court Observation captured 223 appearances in Courtroom number 1, where all matters except trials are heard (during the period in which we collected such data).  In 12 percent of these appearances, the accused did not in fact "appear," and, in 5 percent of cases, the representation status of the accused was not discernible.  Among the remaining cases:

3.3.2 Self-representation by category of offence

Most interviewees suggested that, because of the coverage criteria (likelihood of imprisonment), the criminal charges most likely to be faced by unrepresented accused were summary and minor property offences (shoplifting, fraud, theft of minor services, etc.), minor assaults, domestic violence, breathalyzer refusals and impaired driving.

Figure H-3 uses the Disposed Cases sample to present estimates of the proportions of accused who were unrepresented, according to the offence category of the most serious charge in the case.

In fact, Figure H-3 supports the perceptions of those interviewed.  At last appearance, a relatively high percentage (compared to an average 23 percent for all offences combined) of self-represented accused were found among those charged with impaired driving (36 percent), administration of justice (32 percent), and other federal offences (58 percent). 

Accused charged with robbery (9 percent), break and enter (13 percent), common assault (11 percent), and drugs excluding simple possession (5 percent) showed the lowest rates of self-representation at last appearance.[27] 

3.3.3 Self-representation by stage in process

As noted in later sections, those interviewed felt that it was important to have legal representation not only at trial, but at all stages – and especially the earliest stages – of the court process.

Many interviewees found themselves unable to venture a numeric estimate of the proportions of unrepresented accused at various stages in the process, and those who did differed widely:

Separate estimates were offered with respect to women appearing before the court.  Perceptions offered included:

All interviewees suggested it would be preferable if Legal Aid could accept more cases.  Most believed that the duty counsel function should be expanded to cover all first appearances. 

Figure H-3 also shows – by offence type – the percentages of accused that were without representation at key stages in the court process, namely first appearance, bail, plea, elections and final (disposition) appearance. 

Figure H-3 suggests some significant findings with respect to unrepresented accused.  For example:

Figure H-3. Disposed Cases: Proportion of Accused who were Unrepresented At Various types of Appearance, by Most Serious Charge Category, Halifax*
Most Serious Charge Category Proportion of Disposed Cases with Unrepresented Accused at Total Number of Cases (all accused)
First (%) Bail (%) Plea (%) Defence Election (%) Final (%)
Homicide *** *** *** *** *** 4
Sexual Assault *** *** *** *** *** 4
Assaults excl. Common 37 50 26 0 19 97
Robbery 0 0 0 *** 9 11
Break and Enter 17 23 17 20 13 24
Impaired Driving 57 *** 10 *** 36 14
Common Assault 31 41 12 *** 11 35
Drugs excl. Simple Possession 37 *** 0 *** 5 19
Weapons Offences *** *** *** *** *** 7
Thefts and Frauds 38 23 17 0 20 174
Simple Possession of Drugs *** *** *** *** *** 9
Offences against Administration of Justice 32 13 23 *** 32 66
Public Order *** *** *** *** *** 8
Miscellaneous Criminal Code 55 *** 38 *** 27 11
Other Federal Statutes 42 *** 33 *** 58 26
Total number of all accused at this appearance 508 144 334 63 508 509
Proportion of unrepresented accused at this appearance (all offence categories) 37 35 16 6 23

Notes

3.3.4 Socio-demographic characteristics of unrepresented accused

Most interviewees agreed that the only demographic differences between unrepresented accused and other accused lay in income, with unrepresented accused most likely to be among the working poor.  First-time and relatively inexperienced offenders were more likely to be unrepresented.  Many unrepresented accused functioned at low reading levels – one lawyer estimated a quarter of his clientele could not read, and others simply said "a lot" could not read well enough to assist themselves in a criminal process.  Another interviewee suggested that many accused had little education and had learning disabilities.  Many accused (represented or not) had a "legal literacy" problem. Yet another mentioned that Halifax had a significant refugee population, for many of whom language issues were a barrier.  Accused with mental disorders were, however, if anything, more likely to be represented because of their low economic status. 

With particular reference to all (including represented) women before the court, data collected by Coverdale suggest that roughly 80 percent of the women before the court were there for their first offence – "over half of first-time offences are for shoplifting (and) 82 percent of all offences by women are non-violent property offences."[28] Major factors cited by interviewees included: drugs, poverty issues and family violence.  It was suggested that many would never be seen in court again.