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 |
StandingSuspendingandSharing
THELIMITSOFTHECHARTER
ASATOOLOFSOCIALCHANGEIN
CRIMINALJUSTICE
Alan N Young*
A. INTRODUCTION
There are many who celebrate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as a
crowningachievementandacatalystofprogressivesocialandpolitical
changeOthersarenotsosanguineandtendtoviewtheenactmentof
constitutionalrightsasdoingnothinggreaterthanachievingtheap
pearanceoffairnessandpromotingthelegitimizationofaclassand
race biased judicial processT he truth lies somewhere in between
the praise and condemnation One can not gainsay that over the past
thirtyve years there have been many constitutiona l challenges that
havebroughtaboutdramaticandsignicantchangesinourlegaland
politicallandscapeWhetherthesedecisionshavealteredorsimplyre
ecttheaspirationandprinciplesofallCanadiansisofnoconsequence
Therewillalwaysbedetractorswhobemoantheriseofjudicialactivism
under the Charterandcontendthatthejudiciaryisillequippedtoresolve
OsgoodeHallLawSchool
DavidRudovskyTheCriminalJusticeSystemandtheRoleofthePoliceinDavid
KairysedThePoliticsofLawAProgressiveCritiqueNYPantheonBookssee
alsoStuartSheingoldThePoliticsofRightsLawyersPublicPolicyandPoliticalChange
NewHavenCTYaleUniversityPressForaCanadianperspectiveonthe
mythofrightsseeMichaelMandelThe Charte r of Rights and the Legalization of
Politics in Canada TorontoThompsonEducationalPublicationsinwhichthe
authordiscussesthepublicrelationsfunctionoftheCharteranditsroleingiving
afailedimpressionofconcernsforproceduralrights
ANY
publicpolicyorpoliticalquestionsbutmoreoftenthannotcomplaints
aboutjudicialcompetencesimplytendtobepoliticalstatementsabout
thedesirabilityofparticularcourtdecisions
This chapter will eva luatethe ecacy a nd eciency of using the
CharterasatoolforsocialandpoliticalreformThisevaluationwillavoid
anyassessmentofthedesirabilityofparticularcourtdecisionsand
willaddressadierentquestionwhethertherestillexistprocedural
constraintsontheprocessofconstitutionaladjudicationthatundercut
theecacyandeciencyofusingconstitutionalrightstoeectpolitical
changeDotheprocessrulesthatgoverntheadministrationofciviland
criminaljusticeplaceunnecessaryobstaclesinthepathofvindicating
rightsclaimsordotherulesofprocessfacilitatethelaunchingofmeri
toriousconstitutionalclaimsInlightofmyacademicandprofessional
experienceIwilllimitmyanalysistocasesinvolvingthelegalrights
provisions of the Charterand whether the process r ules havehad a n
impactineectingprogressivechangeinthecriminaljusticesystem
Howeverdespitethisnarrowfocusonthelegalrightsprovisionsitis
generallyrecognizedthatsomeofthemostdramaticshiftsinourpol
iticallandscapeinrecentdecadeshaveoccurredbecauseofsuccessful
equality chal lengesu nders ection of the CharterIn excluding con
siderationofsectioncasesitshouldalsoberecognizedthatachapter
ofthisbrevitycanonlyprovideapreliminaryassessmentofwhetherthe
Charterhasbeenaneectivetoolforprogressivesocialchange
In the context of crimin al lawin the past th irtyveyears t here
havebeensomeremarkableadvancesintheprotectionofprivacyandin
facilitatingtherighttofullansweranddefencebutthepathtochange
inthecriminalprocesshasbeenslowandpainfulUltimatelythepos
itiontakeninthischapteristhatadvancingCharterclaimswithinthe
preexistingproceduralformsofouracceptedsystemofcivilandcrim
inaljusticeisfraughtwithobstaclesandlandminesThedeepstructure
ofouradversarialsystemdesignedtoresolvecivilandcriminalcases
isillsuitedforthedeterminationofcomplexpolicyquestionsthataect
theinterestsofthousandsifnotmillionsofpeoplewhoarenotbefore
thecourt
IntheearlyCharterdaystheOntarioCourtofAppealwasfondof
notingthattheCharterdoesnotintendatransformationofourlegal
RalphCavanaghAustinSaratThinkingaboutCourtsTowardandBeyonda
JurisprudenceofJudicialCompetenceWinterLaw and Society Review
at
Standing, Suspending, and Sharing
systemhoweverw ithoutsome i nstitutional adjustments with in the
preexistingproceduralformsofjusticethereisariskthatthegrowthof
rightswillbestultiedbycumbersomeandcostlyprocessesforvindica
tionAlthoughitistritetosaythattheCharteristhesupremelawofthe
landthisbasicpropositionisoftenforgoenasjuriststrytosqueeze
constitutionaladjudicationintotheframeworkofexistingprivatelaw
modelsofprocedureThefactthatitisthesupremelawsuggeststhat
itshouldbetreateddierentfromordinarydomesticlawTreatingitas
supremenotonlymeansthatanyinconsistenciesfoundinthesubstan
tivecontent of ordin ary law will be held to be of no force and eect
butshouldalsomeanthatanyproceduralobstaclesstandingintheway
ofthevindicationofconstitutionalrightswillalsoberelegatedtothe
realmofnoforceandeect
InPartBofthischapterIwillprovidefourexamplesofhowpro
cedural forms tend to constrain the power of the Charter in eec ting
political and legal change These exa mplesrelating to st rip searches
impaireddrivingprostitutionandassistedsuicideshowthattryingto
bringaboutchangewithintheframeworkofaprivatelawmodelofad
judicationcanleadtopyrrhicvictoriesorirresoluteconclusionsInPart
CIwilldiscusshowanunderstandingofconstitutionalrightsascol
lectiverightswouldleadtoarelaxationorremovalofanyprocedural
obstaclesthatundulyencumberthevindicationofconstitutionalrights
FinallyinPartDIwillbrieyexplorewhethersomeoftheexistingpro
ceduralconstraintsincludingtherulesrelatingtostandinglimitation
periodsocialimmunitycostsandremedieshaveundergonesome
degreeofchangetoaccommodatetheuniqueneedsanddemandsofthe
supremelawoftheland
BTHEPROBLEMOFPYRRHICVICTORIES
AND IRRESOLUTE CONCLUSIONS
Whetheraconstitutionalchallengeissuccessfulornotanexamination
oftheprocessofbringingthechallengetocompletioncanrevealsome
oftheproceduralobstaclesthatlieinthepathofvindicatingrightsFour
casestwoobscureandtwofamousillustratetheconstraintsthatcon
ventionalproceduralformsplaceuponanecientandinformedresolu
tionofconstitutionalquestions
R v AltseimerORdCAquotedinR v CarterORd
CAandR v SeoORdCAinter alia
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