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delays and legal complexities that are adding to backlogs and, in some in- stances, causing cases to fall apart before trial. On one hand, the disclosure matter postponed the trial for some time. But on the other, Greenspon, a veteran Ot- tawa lawyer, had the foresight to allow the Crown to simplify the witness list, thereby saving court time. In Toronto early last year, the con- sequences of the increasingly complex nature of criminal trials came to light when a judge stayed the charges in a high-profile case against members of the city police drug squad over delays in providing disclosure to the defence. It's cases like that one that are the most visible signs of stresses that permeate the system, say the authors of a recent report on criminal trials for the Ontario government. Written by former Ontar- io Superior Court chief justice Patrick LeSage and Michael Code, a University of Toronto law professor, the "Report of the Review of Large and Complex Criminal Case Procedures" is the latest in a series of moves aimed at improving the justice system in the province. But as Code points out, the problem, which the authors blame in part on gaps in the le- gal aid system, isn't just an Ontario phe- nomenon. "I would see it very much as a national problem manifested in virtu- ally every jurisdiction," he says. Back in 2003, then-B.C. attorney general Geoff Plant noted at a sympo- sium on conflict resolution that efforts to improve criminal justice procedures shouldn't be put off because of "the very real possibility that the system as we know it will, by reason of cost, delay, and complexity, become functionally ir- relevant for much of society." To rectify such problems, LeSage and Code outlined a long list of recommen- dations that include everything from simplifying disclosure procedures to al- lowing case management judges to make binding rulings on pretrial motions. But the report also highlights the need to improve the quality of legal defence in major cases, an issue that also surfaced www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com FEBRU AR Y 2009 27 ILLUSTRATION: MICK COULAS