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was closed in 1996. There is no exact date on when the courthouse will be back in service. "We're anticipating [an opening] in late 2013," she says, "and we anticipate that will alleviate some pressures on the Okotoks courthouse. tiatives such as a case management desk that opened in the spring. It is a counter in the courthouse "where an accused or defence counsel can appear and set trial dates, or dates for a preliminary [hearing]." This helps save court time. The only other centres in the province where this service is available are Calgary, Edmonton, and Wetaskiwin. In another effort to ease the crush, remote court scheduling has now been adopted in Okotoks. The ministry says there has been about a seven-week reduction in lead times in dealing with federal offences in Okotoks, but it does not have comparable figures for provincial offences, most of matters handled there. D' Siddons highlights other Okotoks ini- " what he calls "a patchwork approach" is going to solve the problem of congested courts. He is the Edmonton-based presi- dent of Alberta' Arcy Depoe isn't optimistic that Association and a veteran advocate. "It's not such a problem in the major cities" he says, "but in rural centres the lead time to trial is getting longer and longer. administrative inconvenience; they take a real human toll. Depoe says the problem is particularly acute in fast-growing areas such as Okotoks. "There aren't enough judges; courthouses in some centres are inadequate; in some areas there aren't enough prosecutors; and, there aren't enough court clerks." His answer is a major investment by the province in what he sees as an overloaded and unbalanced court system. "There isn't enough money being put into the legal aid system, so too many people are representing themselves, which creates even further delays." Depoe says while the issue of over- Chow says the delays are not just an " crowding and the consequent backlog is serious in Okotoks, it is also a real issue in Airdrie, just north of Calgary, and in northern Alberta, especially in booming Fort McMurray and Fort Saskatchewan. Chow recently had a first-degree ntitled-1 1 s Criminal Trial Lawyers' murder preliminary, scheduled for Okotoks, moved to Calgary because of Okotoks' clogged court docket. He requested the move when he was told that the first available date for the prelimi- nary was more than a year away. He says overcrowding is a persistent problem in Okotoks and he is by no means the only lawyer to have difficulty getting court dates for clients without unreasonable delay. Chow says he respects the efforts of Justice officials to ease the burden, and welcomes the new Turner Valley court- house. But will the measures end the logjam in the Okotoks courthouse? "Right now it' s wait and see, " says Chow. — GEOFF ELLWAND writerlaw@gmail.com Exclusive content. Gain access to comprehensive legal information not available anywhere else. From full-text decisions and case law summaries to commentary and analyses by the foremost experts in their fields. Quicklaw | Legal Research Defined. ® lexisnexis.ca/quicklaw Find helpful Quicklaw tips and tricks at youtube.com/LexisNexisCanada LexisNexis and the Knowledge Burst logo are registered trademarks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used under licence. Quicklaw is a registered trademark of LexisNexis Canada Inc. © 2012 LexisNexis Canada Inc. All rights reserved. www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com A U GUST 2012 11 12-07-13 10:16 AM

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