Why Attacks on Judges Deserve More Attention
Vancouver Sun Op Ed

CTV recently produced a “news” story about a three-month-old decision by Judge Ellen Gordon. The bias of the editors was clear, attacking the judge with deliberately chosen clips of both old and recent comments by the Attorney General, the Chief Judge of BC and people emotionally invested in the outcome of some of Judge Gordon’s past decisions. The resulting montage was an undisguised attack and vilification of a specific judge.

What is objectionable about this event -- and many other media stories like it -- isn’t that there is concern or even outrage about the outcome of a particular court case. It is our right as citizens in a democratic society to voice our concerns about public safety and the laws that govern us. What is disturbing is the form that voice has been allowed to take in recent years, and how it erodes the values upon which our country is built.

Even in the most respected of Canadian media, it has become acceptable to prey on our concerns by ‘amping up’ the level of emotional attacks and ‘dumbing down’ the level of information that is provided about the often-complex background of cases and the careful safeguards that exist to ensure that any judicial decision can be corrected if in error.

Attacks on judges have become so commonplace that we often don’t consider how dangerous our acceptance of it is to our country and to what we stand for, both here and abroad. In many places around the globe, judges serve at the whim of those who have seized and seek to hold onto power. Judges do their job knowing that a decision unpopular with the government, police or military will lead to dismissal at best and, at worst, torture or death of themselves or their family. The resulting ‘justice’ is coloured by this bias and fear.

Unlike those places, our justice system was founded on the belief that it is important to keep as clear and bright a line as possible separating those in power who make the laws, those on our streets who seek to enforce them, and those in our courts who must judge whether a law has been broken and, if so, which of the mandatory responses is applicable to the specifics of the case before them. Our country’s founders made sure our court system included several levels of appeal, to catch and correct any errors in law. And they created a complaints process overseen by a Judicial Council committed to ensuring that no judge on the bench brings disrepute to the credibility of our courts.

I know it’s sometimes hard to find the faith that a decision may be right, or will be corrected if wrong, when we feel it is detached from the level of anger, pain and fear felt by the community. However, I also know that if we cannot find that faith, our entire system of justice will fall. The gains that we have made as a civilized society have come in part because every day we choose to search out a fair balance between the rights and responsibilities of the individual, and the rights and responsibilities of the community. It is a harder road we have chosen, but the benefits by far outweigh the costs.

The next time you see a media story highlighting the most controversial aspects of a particular case or judge’s actions, recognize that this is a deliberate attempt to manipulate your emotions. If you can, read up on the details of the decision for yourself (the courts have a new website at www.courts.gov.bc.ca). And take a moment to reflect and acknowledge the work of generations of Canadians who committed to build a justice system that, while imperfect, remains one that many other countries’ citizens dedicate their lives to the dream of putting into place.

Miriam Maisonville
President, The Canadian Bar Association BC Branch, 2008/2009

[posted February 23, 2009]

President Maisonville's Op Ed was not published in the Vancouver Sun.