THE
JORDAN
DECISION
ALBERTA
APPLICATIONS
Breaking down Jordan Applications in Alberta
A look into approved, denied and pending Jordan Applications since the landmark 2016 decision
Between 2015 and 2016, the majority of the over 1.1 million criminal charges across Canada in adult criminal court were heard in provincial courts.
​
The median amount of time it took for those cases to go through the justice system — from first appearance in court to the final decision — was 112 days.
Of those charges, six per cent took longer than the ceiling timeframe established by R. v. Jordan Supreme Court decision where the ceiling cap is now 18 months for cases before provincial courts and 30 months for cases that went to the Court of Queens Bench. According to Alberta Justice, “Alberta has been working to prioritize serious and violent offences.”
According to data provided by Alberta Justice, the Calgary Journal has created a database detailing the number of cases of approved, denied and pending Jordan Applications in the province since the 2016 decision.
The database breaks down where in the province the cases were filed and the topics of the cases, ranging from murder to sexual assault to trafficking to fraud.
The brass doors from the old provincial court building stand outside the Calgary Courts Centre in downtown Calgary.
THE DATA
The database below details pending, approved and denied Jordan Applications in Alberta as of January 2018. All of the data is provided by Alberta Justice.
The database breaks down where in the province the cases were filed and the topics of the cases, ranging from murder to sexual assault to trafficking to fraud.
According to the data, there are currently 10 pending Jordan Applications in the justice system. Two cases had the charges stayed by the Crown, effectively throwing out the case while 11 were stayed by the courts.
Fifty Jordan Applications filed since the 2016 decision have been denied and 34 applications have been abandoned by the defence counsel.
“A key piece of access to justice is ensuring court cases are heard in a reasonable amount of time—which is why ACPS [Alberta Crown Prosecution Service] has been working to reduce trial delays thus in turn helping to prevent cases reaching the Jordan case length limits,” said Katherine Thompson, communications advisor to the Justice and Solicitor General of Alberta in an email.
“Crown prosecutors are taking the appropriate steps to help ensure the most serious and violent cases are not stayed or withdrawn due to delays, whenever possible.”