The provincial courthouse in Saskatoon has a new system of special dockets for people with mental health problems and cognitive disorders
Every two weeks, people who suffer from conditions like fetal alcohol spectrum disorder can have their cases heard by a separate judge and court.
Crown prosecutor Val Adamko says this gives the court more time to hear each case and learn about what unique circumstances and mental health conditions those charged may be facing.
She explains that under the old system the court wasn’t always able to access a person’s mental health information.
“It’s private health information so it’s really not something that I as a prosecutor can demand of them, nor can the court,” she says. “So this strategy – the first thing they have to do is consent, to discuss their personal health information.”
Judge Sheila Whelan says the court wants to try and address these types of cases more effectively as opposed to watching the same person re-entering the legal system multiple times.
“We want good information about people so if they have a mental health condition, either a cognitive impairment like FASD, or if they have another kind of mental health condition, such as schizophrenia or bi-polar, we want to know about it, and if there are existing reports we want to have them to help them make good decisions or we will order assessments,” she says.
She adds that under the old system mental health workers were called in to hear cases infrequently.
Now they all come on the same day.