Ontario Court of Justice Update

LAO has provided a new guide outlining the services that may be provided by LAO duty counsel in the new Ontario Court of Justice’s virtual case management courts. For more information, see here.  

The OCJ has announced that beginning on September 8th, virtual criminal case management courts will start in the following locations:

As of September 14, 2020, trials and preliminary hearings will resume at select OCJ courthouses in the Central East, Central West, East, Northeast, Northwest and West regions. The Notice also outlines specific protocols for filing application materials, witnesses and the establishment of the special COVID-19 Trial Readiness Courts. For more information, see the Notice here.

The OCJ is conducting virtual criminal case management courts. On Monday, August 31, 2020, virtual criminal case management courts will be implemented in Oshawa, Timmins, Thunder Bay, and Toronto East (1911 Eglinton Avenue East.) For more information.

On August 24, the OCJ published the Guidelines for Conducting Remote Hearings in the Ontario Court of Justice as well as a User Guide for remote hearings conducted by Zoom, and a Manual and Troubleshooting Tips Sheet for remote hearings conducted on the Justice Video Network WebRTC platform.

The OCJ has issued a Notice outlining the process for upcoming virtual criminal case management appearances. The Notice also includes courthouse-specific scheduling and connection information.

The OCJ has issued a new Notice regarding the scheduling of family matters, effective September 2, 2020. This Notice supersedes all previously announces notices. All limitation and procedural time periods that were previously suspended pursuant to O. Reg. 73/20 will resume running on Monday, September 14, 2020.

The OCJ has published a guide including general information for self-represented accused persons who have criminal cases in the OCJ during the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, see here.

On Monday August 17, 2020, the Court will begin scheduling out-of-custody cases adjourned due to COVID-19 in all court locations.  In addition, the Court has revised the Trial / Preliminary Inquiry Scheduling Form that is used to schedule hearings.  For more information, see Update regarding the Scheduling of Criminal Trials and Preliminary Inquiries

The OCJ has issued a new Notice to the Legal Profession and the Public regarding the process for electronically submitting documents for family and criminal matters at the OCJ. Persons that are unable to file documents electronically are encourage to contact their local OCJ courthouse by telephone or email to hear about alternative filing options.