By AdvocateDaily.com Staff

Limited face-to-face lawyer-client visiting hours at some Ontario correctional institutions restricts full access to justice, says Toronto criminal lawyer Melanie Webb.

Webb, principal of Melanie J. Webb Barrister, expresses frustration and concern about the hurdles criminal lawyers have to overcome when trying to meet with their in-custody clients. One institution in eastern Ontario, in particular, limits in-person meetings to 10 hours a week although the norm in other correctional facilities is between 38 and 40 hours a week, she tells AdvocateDaily.com.

She says the restricted visiting hours at Central East Correctional Centre has the effect, however unintentional, of stymying access to clients.

Dubbed a "superjail," Central East has been the focus of a number of issues including an inmate uprising, a death investigation, and lockdowns. A coroner's inquest into the death of an inmate called for improved training and procedures.

Webb recently found visiting a client, who was mounting an appeal, was difficult at the Lindsay institution, which houses more than 1,100 inmates. She says the facility only allows lawyers to meet face-to-face with clients three days a week for a total of 10 hours.

"It's a big problem because I was dealing with a specific issue with this client," Webb says. "I discovered they only allow visits for counsel on Wednesday during daytime hours, two hours on Saturday, and three hours on Sunday.

"I don't know what the issue is, but there has to be some sort of accommodation made for counsel."

Trying to prepare a complicated or lengthy case requires more access to clients, Webb says. And she doubts the public fully understands just how difficult it is to meet with clients who are in custody, especially when constricted by limited visiting hours.

"When you meet with a client in the comfort of your office, that's a whole different story from trying to meet with somebody in custody, and keep in mind, those two hours at the institution aren't really two hours," Webb says.

Lawyers have to go through security, be accompanied to the meeting room, and wait for their clients to be escorted to the meeting room, and that takes time away from the actual interview, she says.

Reviewing disclosure with a client, whether on paper, audio or video requires a significant amount of time, Webb says. The Crown doesn't have the same restrictions in preparing witnesses as the defence, where clients are often in custody.

"Central East is a real problem in terms of access to clients," she says. "I was trying to prepare an application for bail pending appeal, but I can't imagine trying to get the client ready for trial under those time constraints."

She says some institutions allow more time for through-the-glass visits, but they're just not practical.

"It is difficult to review disclosure with a client through the glass," Webb says.

"I had to do that recently at one jail and I literally had to hold my laptop up to the glass to show a video statement to my client. I could barely hear the video myself, never mind through the glass."

Webb says in-custody clients can review video disclosure on their own and should be provided with an opportunity to do so in correctional institutions.

"However, clients often face challenges with the technology, and face issues with gaining sufficient access to the computers, which means that I have to personally come in and review the disclosure myself on my own laptop with them," she says.

Webb says she's visited clients in institutions across the province over the years and she's had varying challenges, including the inability to have a confidential interview with a client at one institution.

"I remember one time I had to pass notes to my client, back and forth," because there were others in the room, she says. She's also been in consultation with clients in rooms without a table.

"Should we just be satisfied with that being the status quo?" Webb asks.

"Having a client in custody extends the amount of time that you need to prepare a case," she explains.

Clients on bail are better able to mount a defence because they are not denied or limited access to their counsel, Webb adds.

"Why don't they have the same standard, just because they happen to be detained in custody?" she asks. "To me, that's not fair.

"I know there are economic problems; I'm not the one who has the solutions," Webb says.

"But on the other hand, these issues have not been adequately addressed. This is not meant as a criticism of corrections officers or the court officers, or even any specific institution. They do the best they can under the conditions, and the fault certainly does not rest with any single party. Rather, this seems to be a broader, systemic problem that we really need to look at."

Webb suggests staffing shortages in the correctional system exacerbates the problems within institutions and courthouses, with the delays creating a cascading effect. She harbours a genuine concern for the well-being of her clients and feels her ability to properly defend her clients are hampered by these conditions.

These are issues that have been commonly experienced across the defence bar for years, she adds.

“We are having problems meeting with our clients in courthouses and inside institutions, and it all adds up to one big issue of access to counsel and ultimately access to justice," Webb says.

"It really puts in-custody accused at a huge disadvantage in trying to prepare for their case," she says.