eping up
appearances
Moose Jaw courthouse: Justin Crann/Moose Jaw Times Red Deer courthouse: jason woodhead Vancouver court house: Richard Eriksson
Courthouses across the country
vary widely from state-of-the-art to total collapse.
But the physical health of the buildings does
reflect on the state of justice and it should be
a priority to provide and maintain quality courts.
F
By Charlotte Santry
ar from being mere bricks and mortar, courthouses are the physical embodiment of the justice system. Their design, appearance,
and state of repair can affect the length of trials; help or hinder
access to justice; protect — or expose — vulnerable parties; and
inspire a sense of respect or disdain for the judicial process. But
lawyers across Canada admit many of these buildings, far from
being a source of civic pride, hamper their efforts to represent
clients in the most effective way.
Take the courthouse at Sherwood Park strip mall, near
Edmonton, Alta., which opened as a makeshift facility 30 years
ago. Last year, a burst pipe flooded the building with raw sewage.
"It was literally flowing out the front doors," says local lawyer
Peter Court. The backup was particularly inconvenient as, while emergency plumbing
work was carried out, only one washroom was in use. Owing to space shortages, the
washroom is where Court had to interview many of his clients.
In the crowded lobby, victims are forced to stand "eyeball-to-eyeball" with accused
perpetrators. Sexual assault victims are sometimes taken by police to a nearby McDonald's
as there is nowhere inside the building they can wait safely for trials to start, says Court.
www.CANADIAN
L a w ye r m a g . c o m
November/December
2013
29
