Nunavut courts face high homicide caseload

There are 15 outstanding murder and manslaughter cases before the Nunavut Court of Justice.

In a territory of 33,000 people, that means a lot of work for those in the justice system.

"Preparing for these cases, certainly they have both cost and human resource implications, as well as the need for additional court space," said Norman Tarnow, acting deputy minister for the Department of Justice.

Three of the 15 cases have been in the system since 2008. The accused range in age from being in their late teens to their 50s. All the crimes occurred in eight of Nunavut's 25 communities.

Thousands of pages

When someone is killed, the RCMP are usually first on the scene. Investigators and forensic experts collect samples, statements and evidence to build a case that could send someone to prison for life.

Police then make a report to Crown prosecutors.

"On the small end, a homicide file would be about 3,500 pages. For this division, a larger file would be somewhere in the range of 30,000 to 40,000 pages," said Sgt. David Knibbs with Nunavut's'V' Division Major Crime Unit.

Once the Crown and defence prepare their cases, they will likely be heard at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit. It takes a year to get a preliminary hearing and officials estimate the average length of time from a homicide charge to a conviction or acquittal is about three years.

"These types of cases, of course because of their seriousness, are over and above the usual cases that the court deals with," said Tarnow.

Officials have responded to the heavy caseload before Nunavuts court system. The federal government earmarked money in this year's budget to hire morejudges and prosecutors for the territory, and eight new court staff were approved to help ease the burden.