This week I got access to the “virtual courtrooms” at two Toronto courthouses in order to observe how COVID-19 is affecting bail hearings, pleas and sentencings. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/04/04/can-justice-be-open-in-a-virtual-courtroom-how-the-pandemic-is-shaping-access-to-ontario-courts.html

I have not been able to get remote access to the hearings at the other 4 courthouses in the city — though I hope that will soon change.

Despite the @OntarioOn announcement a week ago that all courtrooms would be closed to everyone (including media) except for essential court staff for public safety, two courthouses said I had to come in person “at my own risk.”

Open court access during this pandemic is going to be challenging but it is also important. Courts are undergoing an unprecedented transition and COVID-19 is affecting almost every single decision. At a sentencing yesterday, a prison sentence was reduced from 4 years to 3.

This means that the man can get out of jail now (having served the equivalent of 2 years and 9 months pre-trial custody) and that he will serve another 18 months, mostly on house arrest at his mom’s house.

My hope is that media — and where possible — public access will be made available at all courthouses especially since many hearings now are entirely remote and there isn’t even a physical courtroom to go to.

Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done. For the most part, that isn’t happening right now. Dockets aren’t being posted for the Ontario-level courts so we don’t know what hearings are going on. And court staff are too busy for questions (understandable).

But open courts are still a fundamental part of our justice system. Thank you to the staff and judges at the Scarborough courthouse and the Toronto Superior Court who have led the way for protecting that principle in this city.

And it was nice to have my morning coffee “in court” for a change, instead of leaving it half-finished outside the courtroom for later like I normally do.