How COVID-19 is affecting Nova Scotia's courts

As the number of COVID-19 cases increases locally and around the globe, the court system in Nova Scotia is ramping up measures to slow the spread of the disease.

Nova Scotia Supreme Court has cancelled all upcoming jury trials for at least the next 60 days, and moved to an essential services model. Ongoing trials will continue until their conclusion, but all other proceedings at the high court are to be postponed, unless a justice deems them to be urgent.

The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal has adjourned all cases for March and April, except in exceptional circumstances.

Provincial courts say individuals should not attend court in person except for matters where people are in custody, or for urgent criminal, family or protective matters.

The courts are encouraging lawyers to increase the use of phone and video conferencing to reduce the number of people going in to courthouses, and the public prosecution service is following that recommendation.

Crown attorneys told to avoid courts

Martin Herschorn, the director of public prosecutions, has ordered all Crown attorneys not to appear in court in person unless they have approval from the chief Crown, and to use phone and video conferencing wherever possible. 

Herschorn said it's essential for the courts to continue functioning, "but they also have to respond to this unprecedented situation that we're all confronting."

"(Adjournments are) unavoidable in the circumstances," Herschorn said in a phone interview.

He said there's no other way of respecting the advice of public health officials to socially distance.

"We will redouble our efforts to prepare for when things improve and we're able to resume matters." 

Herschorn said the Jordan decision, which sets time limits for criminal trials, is "obviously a concern," but he expected the COVID-19 pandemic to be broadly accepted as an "exceptional" circumstance.

Legal aid lawyers still have clients to meet in person

Megan Longley, executive director of Nova Scotia Legal Aid, said her lawyers will have to appear in person more than Crown attorneys to represent their clients, but she's been encouraging them to work from home as much as possible.

"We have clients and Crown attorneys don't have clients. So we have people who we need to get instructions from, we need to review files with, who obviously are impacted directly by the decisions of the court," Longley said in an interview.

Still, Longley said the majority of work for legal aid lawyers will be transitioning to phone and video conferencing.

She called the changes to the courts "a huge shift" and said legal aid's response and advice to its lawyers was constantly evolving.

Nova Scotia courts also ask that all counsel and members of the public not enter any courthouse if they've returned from international travel in the past two weeks or if they're exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19. 

The recommendation aligns with the orders of Nova Scotia's public health officials to self-isolate for 14 days upon returning from abroad, no matter the condition of an individual's health.

The courts are instructing anyone who is due to appear in court and has recently travelled or is symptomatic to call their lawyer or the court immediately.

All new coronavirus-related measures can be found on the courts website. Some additional steps include:

• No communal water jugs or disposable water cups in the courtrooms. Personal water bottles are allowed but must be removed upon leaving.
• Increased cleaning protocols in all courtrooms and courthouses.
• All civil weddings at the courthouses are cancelled. Individuals who want to get married outside the courthouse can ask a justice of the peace to perform the ceremony.
• The general public will not be permitted to access provincial courts.

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