Yann Giroux triumphantly exited the courtroom Thursday at the Montreal courthouse. He had just narrowly escaped. Serious allegations were made against the 36-year-old: sexual assault, assault and criminal harassment of a woman. He denied the facts.
Posted at 5:00 am.
However, because his case exceeded the 18-month “Jordan cap” by approximately three months, he benefited from a stay of court proceedings due to unreasonable delays. Judge Pierre Dupras therefore did not have to rule on his guilt, even though the trial took place in early October.
Joanie* dated Yann Giroux for a few months. She describes him as a “jealous and very controlling” man: he prevented her from going to the supermarket alone, changed her passwords and tracked her on her phone.
“He told me, ‘I’m going to confiscate you. If I can’t have you, no one will have you. “You’re driving me crazy,” Joanie said at the trial.
He was also violent: he spat in the face, kicked and pulled her hair, she describes.
And an episode where the victim says she was strangled.
He strangled me in the living room. He asked me, “When was the last time you saw your ex?” He came in angry. He strangled me. The more I screamed, the more he pushed the pillow into my face. I had difficulty breathing.
Joanie, during the trial of Yann Giroux
“I don’t know this story,” defended Yann Giroux.
One evening with friends, Yann Giroux asked him to perform oral sex in the toilet, says Joanie. She refused. There he sexually abused her, she said.
This verdict will cause “worry” for victims, warns Louise Riendeau, spokeswoman for the group Houses for Women Victims of Domestic Violence.
“It is already an obstacle course to file a complaint and testify. “If women fear being put in a situation where there are no consequences for making a complaint, there is a risk that many will become discouraged,” she worries.
Louise Riendeau hopes that this decision will not have a “chilling” effect on victims. “Justice can help deter people from acting out and allow victims to regain power over their lives,” she says. In his opinion, there is a lack of specialized prosecutors and court staff.
The head of the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP), Me Patrick Michel, wants to reassure and calls on the victims to continue to denounce.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
I, Patrick Michel, Chief of the Directorate of Criminal and Prosecution
“Although the reduction in the number of sitting days of judges at the Quebec Court has contributed to the impact of the pandemic on legal delays, we are confident that we will be able to complete the procedures initiated, particularly due to the addition of judges and hearings lasting days,” claimed he.
On the rope
In the Jordan decision, the Supreme Court set a limit of 18 months (in some cases 30 months) between the indictment and the end of the trial. In addition, the fundamental rights of the accused are violated unless he is responsible for the delays or there are exceptional circumstances.
In recent months, several Jordanian verdicts have been handed down in Quebec, particularly in the area of drug trafficking. In most cases the Crown had almost nothing to blame itself for. Institutional delays – those caused by the dysfunction or slowness of the justice system – were most commonly highlighted.
The DPCP recalls that the “vast majority” of cases take place within the Jordan parameters. This fall, too, several applications were rejected.
Nevertheless, prosecutors are walking a tightrope. Due to staff shortages and a shortage of judges, several districts have been scheduling hearings lasting more than two days for two years, with a delay of 12 to 14 months. Therefore, the slightest oddity risks the file exceeding the 18-month mark.
Yann Giroux appeared in February 2021. However, it took until March 2022 for the Crown to turn over crucial evidence to the defense. At this point, 70% of the Jordan deadline had passed. According to Judge Dupras, it is “inadmissible” that this evidence was submitted so late. The judge therefore blamed the Crown for the two-month delay until the next hearing.
Without this oddity, the file would still have exceeded the cap – albeit by seven days. Rather, the lion’s share of the delays are due to institutional delays. When the trial was scheduled for August 2022, the earliest available date was October 2023.
Pandemic “backlash”
The Crown tried unsuccessfully to blame the COVID-19 pandemic “backlash” on the justice system. This argument is regularly used by the prosecution in the Jordan files. A similar decision in a domestic violence case was appealed last summer.
According to DPCP, the pandemic “backlash” argument has been used by various authorities in the country. Therefore, the prosecution plans to appeal the Giroux verdict. The appeal court therefore risks deciding the fate of numerous cases in Jordan.
In 2022, the Justice Department feared that there would be tens of thousands of court disruptions in subsequent years. The catastrophe did not occur. However, last September La Presse reported a wave of 126 “Jordan stops” in Nunavik and Abitibi-Témiscamingue due to catastrophic delays.
Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette last year pointed to the controversial reform of the Quebec Court of Justice that reduced the number of days judges sit in court.
An agreement has since been reached between Quebec and the Quebec Court. The appointment of new judges thus brings a breath of fresh air to certain tense judicial districts. For example, a recent incest case was heard by a new judge at the last minute in November.
* Fictitious name
Some Jordan Judgment Cases
- Eight people allegedly involved in a cannabis production and distribution network in the Trois-Rivières region benefited from the dismissal of legal proceedings last spring.
- Shubhumkumar Taheem, a man accused of domestic violence, benefited from a Jordanian ruling in mid-June. No judge was available during his trial scheduled for last February.
- Mitchell Lifshitz, alleged head of a cannabis production and distribution network, escaped due to delays in Montreal last July. The case is on appeal.
- Shane James, suspected of running a fentanyl trafficking network in downtown Montreal, benefited from the Jordan verdict last October. The deadline exceeded the upper limit by a month and a half.