Revamped Policies Unveiled
The Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service has revamped all of its policies and directives to become a Canadian leader in prosecutorial policy.
"The PPS's new Crown Attorney Manual defines and guides the prosecutorial process with greater precision than ever," said Attorney General Michael Baker. "The new manual is indicative of the steps this government has taken to ensure its prosecution service is first-rate."
More than a year ago, the Public Prosecution Service focused attention on its policy manual.
"We knew it needed some work. We wanted it to be the best it could be to help our Crown attorneys be the best they could be," said Martin Herschorn, director of public prosecutions.
That's when the PPS turned to Alasdair (Al) MacDonald for help. Mr. MacDonald had just retired after 25 years with the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General and was returning to his native Nova Scotia. Among his last tasks in Toronto was the overhaul of the Crown attorney manual. His first post-retirement job as a consultant was to draft a new set of policies for prosecutors in the Republic of Indonesia. Nova Scotia retained his services soon after that.
"Nova Scotia was about average when it came to prosecutorial policy and policy development," said Mr. MacDonald. "My goal was to work with prosecutors to make the manual more helpful to them. Its more progressive approach means Nova Scotia Crown attorneys can be more efficient, more consistent and more confident in court."
The centrepiece of the new manual is four core policies. There are also 15 specific prosecution policies and 21 administrative policies and procedures.
The core policies cover the decision to prosecute; resolution discussions and agreements (plea bargaining); staying proceedings and recommencing proceedings; and disclosure. They have a major impact on the course of a prosecution or upon the very existence of a prosecution.
The Decision to Prosecute, for example, establishes the amount of evidence needed to go ahead with prosecutions. It explains the current standard -- realistic prospect of conviction -- and provides more detail on public interest considerations. Before any prosecution, the Crown attorney must conclude there is a realistic prospect of conviction and that it's in the public interest to proceed.
Resolution Discussions and Agreements replaces the outdated policy on plea bargaining. Staying Proceedings and Recommencing Proceedings is a new policy meant to establish consistency among prosecutors across the province. The policy on disclosure is largely unchanged, but reflects current trends in the law.
While most of the other policies have been fine-tuned, the policy on sentencing of persons convicted of a second or subsequent drinking and driving offence has been toughened up. When a person is charged for a second time with impaired driving or failing or refusing the breathalyser, the Crown attorney must now seek at least the minimum punishment of two weeks' imprisonment if the first conviction occurred within the previous five years. The policy had originally required that the Crown attorney look back only two years.
Mr. MacDonald said prosecution policies should not be viewed as rigid rules.
"All the policies are meant to enable prosecutors to accommodate the nuances of the cases they prosecute," he said. "They're a guide in the exercise of discretion that's integral to the criminal prosecution. But at the same time, these policies ensure a necessary measure of consistency and transparency in decision- making."
Eighty-five Crown attorneys picked up their new manuals at the PPS annual conference in October and, so far, feedback has been positive.
"I'm delighted with this policy initiative," said Mr. Baker. "Nova Scotians can be assured their Crown attorneys have a first- class policy tool that will help them be better prosecutors."