Law Society of YukonThe Mentally Disordered Accuseds – Navigating Part XX.1 of the Criminal Code
Description: This presentation will follow the paths by which mentally disordered accuseds in the criminal system are managed from the time they initially appear before a court until discharged when their public safety risk falls below the statutory threshold. The discussion will touch on various types and combinations of mental disorders and will also examine various disposition options, distinguishing them from the traditional sentencing options issued by criminal courts.
Given the time limitations, this presentation will necessarily be superficial in some respects. However, the panel will leave time at the end of the presentation for questions from the attendees.
Presenter: The Honourable Mr. Justice Richard D. Schneider, B.Sc., M.A., Ph.D., LL.B., LL.M., C.Psych is a Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice (appointed 2000), Deputy Judge of the Territorial Court of Yukon, and Chair of the Ontario Review Board, and Alternate Chair of the Nunavut Review Board. He was previously a criminal defence lawyer and certified clinical psychologist. Counsel to the Ontario Review Board from 1994 to 2000. Certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a specialist in Criminal Litigation. Private practice was generally limited to the representation of mentally disordered accused. Also, Adjunct Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Law, University of Toronto. A ‘Specially Appointed Researcher’, China University of Political Science, Law, and Criminal Psychology Research Centre. Named Honorary President of the Canadian Psychological Association in 2002. A great deal of his time has been spent presiding at the Mental Health Court in Toronto. Major research interests are competency and criminal responsibility. Has published extensively in the area of mental disorder and the law. Recent books include: Mental Health Courts: Decriminalizing the Mentally Ill (2007, with H. Bloom and M. Heerema); Annotated Mental Health Statutes [with Pakosh,C., and Paton,L.] (Fifth Edition, in press); The Lunatic and the Lords (2009); Law and Mental Disorder: A Comprehensive and Practical Approach (2013, with H. Bloom); Mental Disorder and the Law: A primer for legal and mental health professionals (2nd Ed., 2017, with H. Bloom); Fitness to Stand Trial: Fairness First and Foremost (with H. Bloom), 2018. The Death of a Butterfly: Mental Health Court Diaries, 2019[all published by Irwin Law / www.irwinlaw.com].
Presenter: RICHARD (RICK) BUCHAN B.A., LL.B, C. Arb Lawyer ~ Mediator ~ Arbitrator
- Practising law 37 years (33 in the Yukon), mainly in the fields of general civil and insurance litigation, administrative law, indigenous law, training and advising adjudicative tribunals, mediation and arbitration.
- Certified in Advanced Commercial Mediation, Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia, 1996
- Awarded Chartered Arbitrator (C. Arb) designation in 2018 from ADR Institute of Canada
- Review Board Experience
- Served as Chairperson of the Yukon Review Board from 1999 to 2012; reappointed in April, 2016—continuing to the present time.
- Other Adjudicative Experience
- Chairperson, Yukon Employment Standards Board and Yukon Occupational Health and Safety Board, 1990-1993
- Yukon Law Society appointee to Mental Health Review Board, 1990-1993
- Arbitrator/Grievance Resolution Person (Yukon Education Act) 1992-1993
- Law Society of Yukon Discipline Appeal Committee [Chairperson, various ad hoc appeal hearings]
- Chairperson, Yukon Utilities Board, February 2021 to present time.
- Various private arbitrations.