Legal Aid promising to protect rights of sex assault victims

By Delon Shurtz on February 4, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

Legal Aid Alberta is promising to better protect the rights of individuals who may have been sexually assaulted.
A new procedure introduced by the organization is aimed at reducing delays and protecting the rights of sexual assault complainants by providing legal support for individuals whose sexual history, relevant e-mails or text messages, and medical records may come under scrutiny in a trial.
“The rules of evidence are complicated in sexual assault trials,” Danny Lynn, Legal Aid senior advisor, says in a news release issued Wednesday.
“For example, the accused sometimes asks a judge for permission to discuss the complainant’s sexual history, or to show a jury emails or text messages the complainant sent someone. And sometimes the accused asks for permission to see the complainant’s medical records or counselling records.” 
In such cases, Canadian law protects complainants’ privacy by giving them a chance to tell the judge what they think should happen, and LAA already provides lawyers for complainants to help them navigate complicated problems and ensure the judge hears their voices. But now, Legal Aid Alberta and the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service have created a more efficient way to avoid unnecessary delays and ensure the complainant gets a lawyer quickly. 
According to Legal Aid’s news release, the organization will make the service available to all complainants in a sexual assault prosecution in Alberta regardless of their financial circumstances. And complainants can receive up to 10 hours of free legal advice and support.
“We’re helping people navigate a very difficult moment in their lives,” Lynn says. “Our goal is to ensure the criminal justice system remains fair for everyone.” 
The new process helps avoid delays in criminal trials, helps ensure complainants understand their legal rights, and helps address the growing number of applications in sexual assault cases where complainants can tell a judge what they want to happen. 
Until last month judges often had to issue court orders to connect a complainant with a lawyer. That sometimes led to unnecessary delays, putting extra strain on a justice system that is already backlogged and dealing with pressures resulting from the pandemic.
Under the new system, Crown prosecutors will contact LAA, which will draw on its staff lawyers and its province-wide roster of lawyers in private practice to find a lawyer who can help the complainant. In many cases, Legal Aid Alberta can appoint a lawyer for the complainant the same day.
“Time is of the essence in these sorts of applications,” Lynn says, adding applications can arise right before a trial starts, and sometimes even in the middle of the trial.
“Nobody wants to see a trial delayed because a complainant hasn’t had an opportunity to get legal advice. We hope this new system will cut down on court delays by eliminating unnecessary paperwork.”

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