Plaintiff in Youth Solitary Confinement Class Action Seeks Stay of Order to Produce Young Offender Records
TORONTO, Jan. 9, 2017 /CNW/ - Koskie Minsky LLP and Sutts, Strosberg LLP are bringing a motion to stay the order of Justice Perell of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, in which the plaintiff, J.K., was ordered to produce his young offender records to the Crown.
On December 22, 2016, Justice Perell of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ordered J.K. to produce his young offender records to the Crown. Justice Perell ruled that records relating to J.K.'s crimes and incarceration, which took place while he was a minor, are relevant to his motion to certify the matter as a class proceeding.
J.K.'s counsel, Koskie Minsky LLP and Sutts, Strosberg LLP, are appealing Justice Perell's decision and have brought a motion to stay Justice Perell's order pending the appeal.
Kirk Baert, counsel for J.K., has said "J.K.'s records are protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act for a reason: when children commit crimes, the punishment is not meant to last a lifetime. They are given a second chance, which includes maintaining the confidentiality surrounding their crimes and punishments".
The J.K. v. HMQ class action involves allegations of Ontario's systemic over-reliance on the use of solitary confinement on minors in Ontario's Youth Justice Facilities.
The Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth released a report in 2015 entitled "It's a Matter of Time" in which the details on the use of solitary confinement on children in Ontario are provided. The report advocates for greater safeguards and/or the complete eradication of the use of solitary confinement on children in Ontario.
SOURCE Koskie Minsky LLP
Kirk Baert: 416-595-2092, [email protected]; Or James Sayce: 416-542-6298, [email protected]
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