Court Site Study of Adult Unrepresented Accused in the Provincial Criminal Courts (Part 2: Site Reports)
Chapter 3: Halifax, Nova Scotia (continued)
3.4 Other types of representation
3.4.1 Prevalence of other types of representation
Figure H-4 displays the representation provided by counsel of various types at each stage of the criminal process.
Figure H-4. Disposed Cases: By Representation Type by Appearance Type, Halifax
Appearance | Represented by | Accused No Show (%) | Number of Cases | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Self (%) | Duty Counsel | Other Legal Aid (%) | Private Counsel (%) | |||
First Appearance | 37 | 32 | 5 | 15 | 13 | 508 (101%) |
Second Appearance (if any) | 31 | 24 | 16 | 21 | 8 | 433 (100%) |
Third Appearance (if any) | 20 | 19 | 28 | 23 | 10 | 348 (100%) |
Appearance | Represented by | Accused No Show (%) | Number of Cases | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Self (%) | Duty Counsel | Other Legal Aid (%) | Private Counsel (%) | |||
Bail | 35 | 49 | 2 | 13 | n/a | 144 (101%) |
Plea | 19 | 14 | 38 | 29 | 0 | 336 (101%) |
Defence Election | 6 | 13 | 38 | 43 | 0 | 63 (100%) |
Final Appearance | 23 | 13 | 37 | 25 | 3 | 508 (101%) |
Notes
The Figure suggests that:
- Legal Aid assisted a little over a third of all accused at first appearance and bail, the vast majority of these cases being handled by duty counsel.
- Duty counsel was able to take a significant number of cases to plea (14 percent) and final resolution (13 percent).
- Duty counsel handled roughly half (49 percent) of the cases at bail.
- Legal Aid (including duty counsel) assisted approximately half of all accused at plea, defence elections, and final appearance.
- Private counsel assisted a significant proportion of accused at all stages – 14 percent and 13 percent of all accused at first appearance and at bail; almost a third of all accused at plea; almost half of all accused at defence elections; and a quarter of all accused at final appearance. Given the small number of legal aid certificates issued (less than 1,000 annually for the entire province), it seems apparent that most of the private bar members appearing in criminal court in Halifax are privately retained and reimbursed.
Figure H-5 shows the most serious offence charged in cases with different types of representation at the final appearance.
Most Serious Charge Category | Proportion of Cases represented by | Number of Cases | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Self (%) | Duty Counsel (%) | Other Legal Aid (%) | Private Counsel (%) | ||
Homicide | *** | 0 | *** | *** | 4 (100%) |
Sexual Assault | *** | 0 | *** | *** | 4 (100%) |
Assaults excl. Common | 19 | 6 | 44 | 29 | 97 (100%) |
Robbery | 9 | 18 | 46 | 27 | 11 (100%) |
Break and Enter | 13 | 0 | 50 | 33 | 24 (100%) |
Impaired Driving | 36 | 0 | 21 | 43 | 14 (100%) |
Common Assault | 11 | 14 | 40 | 34 | 35 (100%) |
Drugs excl. Simple Possession | 5 | 0 | 32 | 63 | 19 (100%) |
Weapons Offences | *** | 0 | *** | *** | 6 (100%) |
Thefts and Frauds | 20 | 24 | 42 | 12 | 174 (100%) |
Simple Possession of Drugs | *** | *** | *** | *** | 9 (100%) |
Offences against Administration of Justice | 32 | 12 | 23 | 32 | 66 (100%) |
Public Order | *** | 0 | *** | *** | 8 (100%) |
Miscellaneous Criminal Code | 27 | 18 | 18 | 27 | 11 (100%) |
Other Federal Statutes | 58 | 4 | 12 | 23 | 26 (100%) |
Total | 23 | 13 | 37 | 25 | 508 (100%) |
Notes
- * Excludes cases for which representation at final appearance was unspecified in the file.
- *** Not enough cases to present percentages..
The Figure suggests that:
- The offences that had a higher frequency of Legal Aid representation (including duty counsel) at final appearance were thefts and frauds, robbery, assaults and break and enter.
- The offences that had a lower frequency of Legal Aid representation were drug offences, offences against the administration of justice, miscellaneous Criminal Code offences, and offences against other federal statutes. With the exception of drug crimes, all these offences tend to be less serious – with Legal Aid officials suggesting that drug offenders had difficulty establishing their financial eligibility for legal aid.
- The offences that had a higher frequency of private counsel representation were break and enter (33 percent), impaired driving (43 percent), common assault (32 percent), drug offences excluding simple possession (63 percent), and offences against the administration of justice (32 percent).
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