{"id":610,"date":"2019-08-14T13:52:13","date_gmt":"2019-08-14T13:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rosenlaw.ca\/?p=610"},"modified":"2019-12-09T16:28:08","modified_gmt":"2019-12-09T16:28:08","slug":"reflecting-on-evolution-of-murder-trials-over-five-decades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rosenlaw.ca\/index.php\/2019\/08\/14\/reflecting-on-evolution-of-murder-trials-over-five-decades\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflecting on evolution of murder trials over five decades"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Drawing on five decades of experience in representing people accused of murder, Toronto criminal lawyer John Rosen<\/a> says Ontario\u2019s judicial system has evolved into one of the best in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is a dynamic system, where every participant \u2014 defence counsel, Crown attorneys, judges, and police officers \u2014 all strive to do their very best, and then some,\u201d says Rosen, founder of Rosen & Company Barristers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOver the almost 50 years that I have been privileged to practise, there has been a noticeable improvement in the thoroughness of investigations, thanks in part to advancements in forensic science, blood and fingerprint analysis, and pathology,\u201d says Rosen, who has defended more than 300 clients accused of murder, including serial killer Paul Bernardo<\/a>, and kidnapper and child killer Min Chen<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has special praise for the Toronto Police Services homicide squad, calling it \u201cone of the best in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosen, who will celebrate his 50th anniversary as a barrister in March 2020, says trials have become more protracted over the years, but it\u2019s necessary to ensure everyone is given the protections they are entitled to under the Charter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Ontario\u2019s strong judicial system, he says people feel confident justice has been done when a jury reaches a decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you have a weak system, everyone\u2019s afraid of wrongful convictions, but the public also doesn\u2019t want to see wrongful acquittals,\u201d Rosen says, adding that both arise from negligence in investigations, mismanagement of the trial process, the inexperience of counsel or flaws in the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes wrongful acquittals happen not because of an absence of evidence or the strength of the defence, but because there was incompetence somewhere along the line,\u201d he tells AdvocateDaily.com<\/a>. \u201cEverybody in the system is dedicated to ensuring those mistakes are not made.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosen recalls that capital punishment was still on the books in Canada when he started work in 1970. Prior to Sept. 1, 1961, any person convicted of murder was sentenced to death, and it was carried out unless the governor-general commuted it to life imprisonment. The last two men convicted of capital murder were put to death by hanging in Toronto\u2019s Don Jail in 1962.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1961, he says the Criminal Code was amended to create capital murder with the penalty of death for the killing of a protected person such as a police officer; and non-capital murder, with a penalty of life imprisonment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1976, Parliament replaced these designations with first- and second-degree murder, both carrying a mandatory life sentence. First-degree murder allows for parole after 25 years and second-degree after 10 years. The penalty of capital punishment was also eliminated that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon after, the 10-year minimum sentence for second-degree murder was changed to provide for a range of 10 to 25 years, at the judge\u2019s discretion, Rosen says. He recalls a conversation at that time with fellow lawyer Sidney Linden, who later became the chief judge of the Ontario Court of Justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSid predicted that the 10-year parole eligibility for murder would steadily creep up to the point where nobody gets it, and boy was he right,\u201d Rosen says, noting that the minimum parole eligibility is now the exception, not the rule. \u201cSo now, there is even more at stake when someone is accused of murder and faces a life sentence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosen\u2019s second murder trial lasted six weeks, which he says was a long time back then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSix weeks for a murder trial is nothing today as we have to be sure that witnesses are heard in full and evidence is placed properly before the jury,\u201d Rosen says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He recalls former Crown attorney Steve Leggett describing a murder \u201cas just an assault causing death, with some complexity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn a basic level he was right,\u201d Rosen says, explaining the difference is that the justice system puts more resources into murder cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe tend to treat homicides differently,\u201d he says. \u201cIn our society, life is precious, so we can\u2019t have people taking other people\u2019s lives, unlike in countries where they have the death penalty, as that seems to foster an attitude of indifference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosen recalls the words of retired Crown attorney Frank Armstrong, who practised into his 80s and who said, \u201cWith every homicide, you have an intersection of lives where one ends and the others continue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s what makes murder cases so interesting for lawyers and the public \u2014 there is always a missing witness,\u201d says Rosen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the public\u2019s sake, he says the justice system has to find out what happened, and if there is a way to prevent similar deaths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Murder trials are fairer now, Rosen says, thanks to the efforts of the police and all the other players in the trial, but it really comes down to the jury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs representatives of the public, juries are now more sensitive to the rights of the victims as well as the accused,\u201d Rosen says. \u201cWhen people sit on a jury, something happens, where they just want to do the right thing. Jurors really are the great equalizers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Drawing on five decades of experience in representing people accused of murder, Toronto criminal lawyer John Rosen says Ontario\u2019s judicial system has evolved into one of the best in the world. \u201cIt is a dynamic system, where every participant \u2014 defence counsel,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nReflecting on evolution of murder trials over five decades - Rosen & Company Barristers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rosenlaw.ca\/index.php\/2019\/08\/14\/reflecting-on-evolution-of-murder-trials-over-five-decades\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reflecting on evolution of murder trials over five decades - 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