How long can a criminal case last before it is too long?
In the United States? This answer is Québec and Canadian law. The US side of this site answers different questions, state by state: different law, and different coverage. Go to the US side
Short answer
In R. v. Jordan (2016), the Supreme Court of Canada set ceilings: 18 months between the laying of charges and the end of the trial in provincial court, and 30 months in superior court or where there has been a preliminary inquiry. Past those ceilings, the delay is presumed unreasonable. Ce dernier cas vise directement le Québec : la Cour suprême donne expressément la province en exemple d'endroit où un procès peut se tenir en cour provinciale à l'issue d'une enquête préliminaire · le plafond applicable est alors de 30 mois, pas 18.
In detail
Section 11(b) of the Charter guarantees any person charged with an offence the right “to be tried within a reasonable time”. The Jordan framework translated that right into numerical benchmarks, to avoid endless debates over what is “reasonable”.
Two essential points. First, delay caused by the defence, or that the defence waives, is subtracted from the calculation: systematically asking for adjournments does not make the clock run in your favour. Second, once the ceiling is passed, it falls to the prosecution to show exceptional circumstances that justify going over it.
The consequence of a delay found to be unreasonable is a stay of proceedings. But the application has to be brought before the court, and it rests on a precise reconstruction of the case timeline.
What to document
Keep a timeline of the case: the date the charges were laid, every court date, who asked for each adjournment and why, and every trial date that was set and then moved. That is exactly the calculation a delay application requires · and it is nearly impossible to reconstruct from memory.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
Open the application Up to 3 files, no card · see the plans
And to put it in order: our free tools · number your exhibits, set your facts in date order, request a copy of your file. No account, and nothing leaves your browser.
Official sources
- Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s. 11(b) · Justice Laws Website
- R. v. Jordan, 2016 SCC 27 · CanLII
Related questions
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- What happens if I do not show up for my court date?
See all the answers · the full guide collection · Lire en français
What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.