In the landmark case of Jordan rendered in July 2016,
the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) established ceilings beyond which
delay from the charge to the actual or anticipated end of trial is
presumed to be unreasonable and infringes section 11 (b) of the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, unless justified
by exceptional circumstances. The Court set the ceilings at 18
months for simple cases tried in the provincial court and at 30
months for cases in the superior court or cases tried in the
provincial court after a preliminary inquiry (presumptive
ceilings).
On 20 March 2020, in R. v. K.G.K., the SCC
clarified the question of whether the presumptive ceilings
established in Jordan encompass the trial judge's
verdict deliberation time. The majority held that they do not.
