Courthouses throughout Ontario, including those in London and St. Thomas, reopened Monday but it's far from business as usual. In-person trials and preliminary hearings are being held for the first time since the courts were closed due the coronavirus pandemic on March 16. The new procedures are putting defence lawyers in a difficult position, according to London lawyer Cassandra DeMelo, who is also Women's Vice-President of the Ontario Criminal Lawyers Association. She says clients depend on defence lawyers to advance their case so that they can get some sort of resolution and "don't want this lingering over them forever." London defence lawyer Cassandra DeMelo says reopening the courts is a "fine balancing act" between accommodating those who people who feel safe returning and providing anyone who doesn't feel safe with an "opt-out route."

Source: CBC News July 06, 2020 18:00 UTC