Why Are Courts Still Using Paper Informations?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, courthouses in Ontario are at least a decade behind when it comes to implementing technology.  In fact, in some areas, they could be two decades behind.

One area where this is most notable is when it comes to informations.  The information is the charging document which asserts jurisdiction over an accused person.  It must be sworn or affirmed by an officer (unless it is privately laid) before a Judge or Justice of the Peace.  The officer must have reasonable grounds to believe the offence was committed by the person charged (often they are sworn/affirmed by court officers based on just a synopsis, but that’s another discussion).  An information should not be confused with an indictment (the document before a Superior Court once an individual has been committed to trial before the SCJ).

The information is a paper document.  There is no electronic copy.  Often informations cannot be found and court clerks will need to scramble to get it before the court.  In cases where an accused person has outstanding charges and is charged with new offences the previous information needs to be brought before a bail court in order to perfect a Crown s. 524 application.  In cases where the new charges are being prosecuted at a different courthouse then the previous charges the accused person will have to be remanded in custody so a copy of the previous information can be shipped to the courthouse prosecuting the new charges (this is the procedure in Toronto providing all charges are from the City of Toronto, in cases where previous charges are from another jurisdiction it is common that the Crown will not even make a s. 524 application due to the complexities of getting the information from the other jurisdiction).

From one perspective, I understand the reason why there is an argument for informations to be hardcopy paper documents.  A criminal charge is a very serious thing that may result in one receiving a criminal record and the possible deprivation of their liberty.  Some may say there is an inherent risk holding documents electronically.  Frankly, I don’t buy this argument.  We now live in a world where many very important documents are stored electronically.  This includes government documents, financial records, etc.  To suggest that a secure system cannot be created to properly store informations just doesn’t make sense to me.

This blog post was written by Toronto Criminal Lawyer Adam Goodman. Adam can be reached at 416-477-6793 or by email at adam@aglaw.ca.