Crown Decision-Making under the Youth Criminal Justice Act

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Table of Contents

• EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• 1. INTRODUCTION
  • 1.1 Research Questions
  • 1.2 Methodology
  • 1.3 The Observation Sample
  • 1.4 Analysis
  • 1.5 Methodological Issues
• 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE COURTS
  • 2.1 Court Caseloads
  • 2.2 Charging Authority
  • 2.3 The Key Actors
  • 2.3.1 The Bench
    • 2.3.2 Crown Attorneys
    • 2.3.3 Legal Representation
    • 2.3.4 Other System Actors
  • 2.4 Information Sources Available to the Crown
  • 2.5 Case Characteristics
    • 2.5.1 Demographic and Social Factors
    • 2.5.2 Legal Characteristics
  • 2.6 The Court Environment
    • 2.6.1 Crown and Defence Counsel Relationships
    • 2.6.2 A Fine Balance
  • 2.7 Summary
• 3. CHARGE APPROVAL, PROCEEDING WITH AND DROPPING CHARGES
  • 3.1 The YCJA
  • 3.2 Charge Approval in British Columbia
    • 3.2.1 Provincial Policy
    • 3.2.2 Charge Approval Sample
    • 3.2.3 Case Characteristics
    • 3.2.4 Information Sources
    • 3.2.5 Cases that were Approved to Court
    • 3.2.6 No Further Action
    • 3.2.7 More Information Required: Return Case to Police
    • 3.2.8 Pre-charge Diversion to Extrajudicial Sanctions
  • 3.3 Proceeding with Charges: The Likelihood of Conviction and Public Interest
  • 3.4 Dropping Charges
  • 3.5 Summary
• 4. CROWN REFERRALS TO EXTRAJUDICIAL SANCTIONS
  • 4.1 The YCJA
  • 4.2 Provincial Policies
  • 4.3 Information Sources Used by Crown Counsel
  • 4.4 Characteristics of Diverted Cases
  • 4.5 Factors Related to Extrajudicial Sanctions
    • 4.5.1 Social Characteristics of the Young Person
    • 4.5.2 Legal Characteristics of the Case
    • 4.5.3 Program Availability
    • 4.5.4 The Role of the Community
  • 4.6 Characteristics of EJS Programs
  • 4.7 Multivariate Analysis of Factors Affecting Diversion Decisions
  • 4.8 Summary
• 5. BAIL DECISION-MAKING BY CROWN COUNSEL
  • 5.1 The YCJA
  • 5.2 Provincial Policies
  • 5.3 Rates of Release on Consent
  • 5.4 Information Sources Used by Crown Counsel
  • 5.5 Characteristics of Bail Cases
  • 5.6 Factors Related to Consent Releases
    • 5.6.1 Social Characteristics
    • 5.6.2 Legal Characteristics
    • 5.6.3 Other Legal Factors
    • 5.6.4 Alternatives to Detention
    • 5.6.5 Program Availability
    • 5.6.6 Idiosyncratic Decision-making
  • 5.7 Multivariate Analysis of Factors Affecting Consent Release
  • 5.8 Summary
• 6. CROWN SUBMISSIONS TO SENTENCE
  • 6.1 The YCJA
  • 6.2 The Content of the Crown Submission to Sentence
  • 6.3 Information Sources Used by Crown Counsel
    • 6.3.1 Social Reports
    • 6.3.2 Verbal Interaction
    • 6.3.3 Defence-Crown Negotiations
  • 6.4 Case Characteristics
  • 6.5 Factors Related to Submissions to Sentence
    • 6.5.1 Social Characteristics of the Young Person
    • 6.5.2 Legal Characteristics of the Young Person
    • 6.5.3 Program Availability
    • 6.5.4 Other Factors
  • 6.6 Multivariate Analysis of Factors Affecting Submissions to Sentence
  • 6.7 Relationships between Actual and Recommended Sentence
  • 6.8 Cases Where the Crown Recommended Custody and Supervision
  • 6.9 Summary
• 7. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
  • 7.1 Similarities and Differences among the Youth Courts
  • 7.2 Decision-making
  • 7.3 The Research Questions
    • 7.3.1 Charge Approval in British Columbia
    • 7.3.2 Extrajudicial Sanctions
    • 7.3.3 Pre-trial Detention
    • 7.3.4 Submissions to Sentence
• REFERENCES

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