For the past year or so, the Toronto Lawyers’ Association website has been posting the next day’s court lists (for Toronto matters, naturally) on its website. Allowing counsel to see where their matter is being heard, who is presiding and even simply ensuring that their matter is on the schedule at all was a welcome addition, particularly for anyone who’s arrived at court and searched in vain for their file to be on a list.
Taking this to the next step is a new website run by the Ministry of the Attorney General that contains the court dates for, yes, just about every court in the Province of Ontario (civil, criminal, small claims, bankruptcy, family and divisional). The website makes it clear that it is not an all-encapsulating website, does not include all cases (such as cases with a publication ban, provincial offences prosecutions, cases subject to certain mandated public access restrictions, and others) and is not meant to be a “live” website with up-to-the-minute information. It is simply a posting of the next day’s lists as of 4:30 p.m. the previous day. Still, this is a huge upgrade and a welcome step.
