CDAS is seeking the membership's input on the Expanded Duty Counsel Project that is currently being piloted in the Port Coquitlam courthouse. The intention of the Legal Services Society is to introduce this program into other jurisdictions; the current lead counsel on the program has been attending other courthouses to gain information for this purpose. After receiving input from our membership, CDAS plans to prepare a letter containing our members' views and insight, to provide to both LSS as well as the Attorney General, David Eby. Our hope is to initiate a dialogue between the parties so that we can potentially effect a change in the program's structure while it's still in its earlier stages of development. In addition to seeking your opinion regarding the Expanded Duty Counsel Project, we are also seeking any input about positive aspects of the Downtown Community Court Duty Counsel project. The reason behind this is to provide positive examples on how a duty counsel project can be run in a manner beneficial to accused, defence lawyers, and to the criminal justice system as a whole. Please share your insight to Regional Representatives Kristy Neurauter and Carrie Ng. They can be reached as per the following:
Kristy Neurauter - email: kristy.neurauter@gmail.com / cell phone: (604) 880-9422
Carrie Ng - email: carrie.ng.law@gmail.com / cell phone: (778) 985-4949