Standing, Suspending, and Sharing: The Limits of the Charter as a Tool of Social Change in Criminal Justice

• Author: Alan N Young
• Pages: 1-48



StandingSuspendingandSharing

THELIMITSOFTHECHARTER

ASATOOLOFSOCIALCHANGEIN

CRIMINALJUSTICE

Alan N Young*

A. INTRODUCTION

There are many who celebrate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as a

crowningachievementandacatalystofprogressivesocialandpolitical

changeOthersarenotsosanguineandtendtoviewtheenactmentof

constitutionalrightsasdoingnothinggreaterthanachievingtheap

pearanceoffairnessandpromotingthelegitimizationofaclassand

race biased judicial processT he truth lies somewhere in between

the praise and condemnation One can not gainsay that over the past

thirtyve years there have been many constitutiona l challenges that

havebroughtaboutdramaticandsignicantchangesinourlegaland

politicallandscapeWhetherthesedecisionshavealteredorsimplyre

ecttheaspirationandprinciplesofallCanadiansisofnoconsequence

Therewillalwaysbedetractorswhobemoantheriseofjudicialactivism

under the Charterandcontendthatthejudiciaryisillequippedtoresolve

 OsgoodeHallLawSchool

 DavidRudovskyTheCriminalJusticeSystemandtheRoleofthePoliceinDavid

KairysedThePoliticsofLawAProgressiveCritiqueNYPantheonBookssee

alsoStuartSheingoldThePoliticsofRightsLawyersPublicPolicyandPoliticalChange

NewHavenCTYaleUniversityPressForaCanadianperspectiveonthe

mythofrightsseeMichaelMandelThe Charte r of Rights and the Legalization of

Politics in Canada TorontoThompsonEducationalPublicationsinwhichthe

authordiscussesthepublicrelationsfunctionoftheCharteranditsroleingiving

afailedimpressionofconcernsforproceduralrights

ANY

publicpolicyorpoliticalquestionsbutmoreoftenthannotcomplaints

aboutjudicialcompetencesimplytendtobepoliticalstatementsabout

thedesirabilityofparticularcourtdecisions

This chapter will eva luatethe ecacy a nd eciency of using the

CharterasatoolforsocialandpoliticalreformThisevaluationwillavoid

anyassessmentofthedesirabilityofparticularcourtdecisionsand

willaddressadierentquestionwhethertherestillexistprocedural

constraintsontheprocessofconstitutionaladjudicationthatundercut

theecacyandeciencyofusingconstitutionalrightstoeectpolitical

changeDotheprocessrulesthatgoverntheadministrationofciviland

criminaljusticeplaceunnecessaryobstaclesinthepathofvindicating

rightsclaimsordotherulesofprocessfacilitatethelaunchingofmeri

toriousconstitutionalclaimsInlightofmyacademicandprofessional

experienceIwilllimitmyanalysistocasesinvolvingthelegalrights

provisions of the Charterand whether the process r ules havehad a n

impactineectingprogressivechangeinthecriminaljusticesystem

Howeverdespitethisnarrowfocusonthelegalrightsprovisionsitis

generallyrecognizedthatsomeofthemostdramaticshiftsinourpol

iticallandscapeinrecentdecadeshaveoccurredbecauseofsuccessful

equality chal lengesu nders ection of the CharterIn excluding con

siderationofsectioncasesitshouldalsoberecognizedthatachapter

ofthisbrevitycanonlyprovideapreliminaryassessmentofwhetherthe

Charterhasbeenaneectivetoolforprogressivesocialchange

In the context of crimin al lawin the past th irtyveyears t here

havebeensomeremarkableadvancesintheprotectionofprivacyandin

facilitatingtherighttofullansweranddefencebutthepathtochange

inthecriminalprocesshasbeenslowandpainfulUltimatelythepos

itiontakeninthischapteristhatadvancingCharterclaimswithinthe

preexistingproceduralformsofouracceptedsystemofcivilandcrim

inaljusticeisfraughtwithobstaclesandlandminesThedeepstructure

ofouradversarialsystemdesignedtoresolvecivilandcriminalcases

isillsuitedforthedeterminationofcomplexpolicyquestionsthataect

theinterestsofthousandsifnotmillionsofpeoplewhoarenotbefore

thecourt

IntheearlyCharterdaystheOntarioCourtofAppealwasfondof

notingthattheCharterdoesnotintendatransformationofourlegal

 RalphCavanaghAustinSaratThinkingaboutCourtsTowardandBeyonda

JurisprudenceofJudicialCompetenceWinterLaw and Society Review

at

Standing, Suspending, and Sharing

systemhoweverw ithoutsome i nstitutional adjustments with in the

preexistingproceduralformsofjusticethereisariskthatthegrowthof

rightswillbestultiedbycumbersomeandcostlyprocessesforvindica

tionAlthoughitistritetosaythattheCharteristhesupremelawofthe

landthisbasicpropositionisoftenforgoenasjuriststrytosqueeze

constitutionaladjudicationintotheframeworkofexistingprivatelaw

modelsofprocedureThefactthatitisthesupremelawsuggeststhat

itshouldbetreateddierentfromordinarydomesticlawTreatingitas

supremenotonlymeansthatanyinconsistenciesfoundinthesubstan

tivecontent of ordin ary law will be held to be of no force and eect

butshouldalsomeanthatanyproceduralobstaclesstandingintheway

ofthevindicationofconstitutionalrightswillalsoberelegatedtothe

realmofnoforceandeect

InPartBofthischapterIwillprovidefourexamplesofhowpro

cedural forms tend to constrain the power of the Charter in eec ting

political and legal change These exa mplesrelating to st rip searches

impaireddrivingprostitutionandassistedsuicideshowthattryingto

bringaboutchangewithintheframeworkofaprivatelawmodelofad

judicationcanleadtopyrrhicvictoriesorirresoluteconclusionsInPart

CIwilldiscusshowanunderstandingofconstitutionalrightsascol

lectiverightswouldleadtoarelaxationorremovalofanyprocedural

obstaclesthatundulyencumberthevindicationofconstitutionalrights

FinallyinPartDIwillbrieyexplorewhethersomeoftheexistingpro

ceduralconstraintsincludingtherulesrelatingtostandinglimitation

periodsocialimmunitycostsandremedieshaveundergonesome

degreeofchangetoaccommodatetheuniqueneedsanddemandsofthe

supremelawoftheland

BTHEPROBLEMOFPYRRHICVICTORIES

AND IRRESOLUTE CONCLUSIONS

Whetheraconstitutionalchallengeissuccessfulornotanexamination

oftheprocessofbringingthechallengetocompletioncanrevealsome

oftheproceduralobstaclesthatlieinthepathofvindicatingrightsFour

casestwoobscureandtwofamousillustratetheconstraintsthatcon

ventionalproceduralformsplaceuponanecientandinformedresolu

tionofconstitutionalquestions

R v AltseimerORdCAquotedinR v CarterORd

CAandR v SeoORdCAinter alia