The Advocacy Chair for the Canadian Bar Association of Newfoundland and Labrador says he is “concerned but not surprised” after staffing issues delayed a high-profile murder trial last week.

The first-degree murder trial of Dean Penney could not proceed recently because there were not enough sheriff’s officers.

Joe Thorne says the reasons for such shortages are “systemic” in nature, and the impacts of delays in the court system affect everyone.

For victims and their families, he says it causes their “suffering and anxiety” to go on longer. For people who are accused, their charter right to a trial in a reasonable time is in jeopardy, and the longer a trial goes on the worse a witness’s memory might get which can “prejudice an accused’s ability to defend themselves.”

Thorne says there are also impacts for the general public, because delays reduce confidence in the administration of justice. He says the system only works if people trust it, even if they don’t agree with the outcome. “Debate about process and outcomes in the justice system is a healthy debate. Debate about whether the system actually properly functions is not a healthy debate at all.”