by Hunter Gordon

In July 2007, lawyers Brad Beer, Edward Bowes, Anna-Maya Brown, Brian Burgess, Hunter Gordon, Tim Holmes and Debra Padron were appointed as judicial officers of the B.C. Provincial Court. These lawyers are the first of a new model of Judicial Justices of the Peace (“JJP”) who began sitting this summer in the Provincial Court. They were appointed by Order in Council as Justices of the Peace under the Provincial Court Act and designated as Judicial Justices of the Peace.

JJPs are officers of the Provincial Court. Their current duties, assigned by the Chief Judge, are to hear applications by telephone and video for search warrants and judicial interim release (bail) from every part of the province. Much of this work is performed at a Justice Centre located near Metrotown in Burnaby. These hearings are conducted in eight-hour shifts, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Some of the JJPs perform these hearings from offices in their homes. JJPs also hear ticket violation offences, mostly offences under the Motor Vehicle Act and other provincial statutes, and under municipal bylaws, and conduct small claims payment hearings in provincial courthouses around the province.

The creation of this new model of JJP followed a project by the Provincial Court to review the tasks assigned to JJPs and to review the effective discharge of the workload of Provincial Court judges. As a result of these reviews, the Judicial Council changed the minimum standards for candidates recommended for appointment as a JJP to include a law degree with a minimum of five years as an active practising member of the Law Society of B.C.

Until now, JJPs have been primarily former court services workers employed full-time as JJPs. These seven lawyers are the first appointments under the new requirements. They work part-time as JJPs and are authorized to continue to practise law in areas which do not conflict with their duties as JJPs. They are paid a per diem rate. The 2007 Judicial Justices of the Peace Compensation Commission has just completed its triennial review and has made recommendations to the provincial government for JJP remuneration for the three year period beginning April 2008.

These new appointments are the vanguard of a new collaborative initiative being developed by the Ministry of Attorney General and the Provincial Court to remove unscheduled bail hearings from the courtroom and move them to a centralized and video-supported process to serve the whole province. The process will likely begin with a pilot project in the near future. In time, as the experience with the new JJPs grows and with the new model of part-time legally trained JJPs, other functions now carried out only by Provincial Court judges may be assigned by the Chief Judge to JJPs.

The Office of the Chief Judge is actively recruiting additional candidates and anticipates that in total as many as 25 will be appointed. Lawyers who are interested can contact the Office of the Chief Judge at 604-660-2864 or access the Provincial Court website at www.provincialcourt.bc.ca/ for a link to further information.

This article was published in the October 2007 issue of BarTalk. © 2007 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.