When an accused experiences 14 to 18 months of institutional delay, can the court infer prejudice in the absence of actual prejudice?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Potratz v. Potratz, 2015 BCSC 1608 (CanLII):

When the accused experiences 14 to 18 months of institutional delay, courts may infer prejudice in the absence of actual prejudice: Morin at p. 801, R v. Williamson, 2014 ONCA 598 [Williamson].

In terms of prejudice, Lamer J. stated the following in Mills v. The Queen, 1986 CanLII 17 (SCC), [1986] 1 S.C.R. 863 in dissent at pp. 919-20: …security of the person is not restricted to physical integrity; rather, it encompasses protection against “overlong subjection to the vexations and vicissitudes of a pending criminal accusation”… These include stigmatization of the accused, loss of privacy, stress and anxiety resulting from a multitude of factors, including possible disruption of family, social life and work, legal costs, uncertainty as to outcome and sanction.

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