Well, the court system is really adapted to the COVID 19 pandemic over the last couple of years. It’s been a real struggle. And one of the things that went on, there was an option to do virtual trials during the down period when the courts are closed. And what they found is they kept those going. So now at this stage in 2022, in April , April Fool’s Day today, in fact, there’s still an option you can do both. So take a domestic assault matter. For example, if a client comes to us and they retain us and they want to have a trial for domestic assault, they can choose to have a virtual trial by zoom where all the witnesses are zoom and the judges appearing on the same camera or they can appear to go in person to court. That’s the status of the court system right now. And as long as the crown consents to that so both parties’ consent, and the debate is well, for domestic assault matter. Is a zoom trial as good at least or is it better or in person better? And it’s a really interesting topic and I did a very interesting podcast actually with our office manager ill refer you to that, we talked about all the pros and cons of zoom versus in person trials and she took the tack that that Zoom was not necessarily a good thing because a lot was lost in the translation. The judge doesn’t see the witness sweating there and red face and your lawyers not right in their face cross examining. So to speak.So there’s that side of the debate, but a lot of lawyers found including our office once we started doing some trials for domestic assault, we really found no difference. It was quite interesting, really. And you know, that’s what I thought in the outset. Well, what are we going to lose by Zoom, the person’s right there in the Zoom meeting right in front of the judges face as well. The judge has seen them very well. So if they’re sweating or red face or their demeanor is off, the judge can still assess their credibility and reliability as a witness. So we have given our clients the option to either one some will opt for an in person trial some will opt for a zoom trial, but my advice to them is there’s really no difference and it’s quite convenient for the client, they can come to our office to be on the zoom camera or they could stay in their house, frankly, and have a complete trial. So that’s been our experience.

Every one of our lawyers has had positive experiences doing domestic assault Zoom. And of course, we’ve done in person trials during COVID to during period your allowed. So, it’s a debate that goes on a little bit in the in the criminal justice system, but I have found in talking to my colleagues in various cities who practice criminal law and do domestic assault, just about every one of them has said to me that I’m finding no differences. It’s very effective, it’s convenient for all the parties. And that’s kind of our new reality going forward here. As COVID Slowly resolves, I think the court is leaning towards keeping the options open up either in person or Zoom trials for domestic assault, that appears to be the direction that we don’t know for sure, but certainly as of now, if both parties consent if the prosecutor agrees and the defence counsel agrees, and then the client is okay with it. We’re doing Zoom trials to great effect and I reference you back to that podcast because you might have a few laughs here because my office manager and I got into it a little bit. We had a polite, we politely disagreed. We agreed to disagree. Let me put it that way on this topic back at a couple of years ago. So there you have it. That’s virtual reality versus in person trials for domestic assault.

By Published On: July 27, 2023Last Updated: August 9, 2024Categories: Domestic Assault, Video

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