What was your path into law and onto the bench? 

First, I want to tell you that I am honoured to contribute to this project and humbled to have my photo alongside the accomplished women here.  The path that has led me here has been winding.  I had contemplated law school during high school and undergrad, but I took some time off school, and by the time I finally entered Law School at Dalhousie in Halifax, I was 25. I was living in rural Nova Scotia at the time and thought I would be a small town lawyer with a general practice. By the time first year was over, I was entranced with criminal law, and knew that was all I wanted to do.  I was fortunate to article in a small criminal defence firm in Toronto, and then went on to a legal aid duty counsel position in downtown Toronto, where my clients were often impoverished and dealing with mental health and addiction issues.  After about four years, I saw a tiny ad in a newspaper for a Crown prosecutor position in the Northwest Territories. I wanted an adventure, so I applied.  For the next ten years I traveled all over the NWT and Nunavut where I did my best to help the courts and communities to deal with terrible violence and other crimes committed against a background of poverty, rapid social change, and the legacy of residential schools.  After ten years in the North, I moved back South.  I had the good fortune to land in Winnipeg where I continued work as a prosecutor, and in 2014 was appointed to the Court of Queen’s Bench.  I wanted to serve as a judge because the work is intellectually and emotionally challenging.  It requires both careful analytical thought and human understanding, objective detachment and compassion.  It fully engages one’s mind and heart.  And it is a tremendous opportunity to serve one’s community.  I am humbled to be trusted with the responsibility.

What advice do you have for counsel who appear before you? 

I would echo much of the advice given by my colleagues here.  Be prepared.  Submit helpful briefs well in advance.  Know your case.  Know how to respond to your opponent’s argument.   Acknowledge weaknesses in your case.  Be ready to answer questions.   Make reasonable concessions.  Develop and maintain a reputation for integrity.  To learn advocacy skills, got to court and observe.  Learn from others, but find your own style.  Learn the skill, and develop the art, of effective examination of witnesses. Ask one question at a time.  Use plain language. Listen to the answer you get.  Ask the follow up questions.  Remember that to find in your favour the judge needs not only cogent argument, but relevant evidence that supports your case.  Be polite and purposeful when cross-examining an opponent’s witness.   Never forget that the parties and witnesses are human and they deserve respect.   Avoid sarcasm and bluster, they never help your case.  As a judge, I am looking to lawyers to assist me in making a fair and just decision and I will appreciate careful, dispassionate advocacy over eloquent rhetoric every time. 

What do you wish the public knew about the justice system?

I would like the public to know that although the justice system is built on a foundation of established law, recognized legal principles and customary practices, it is also ever changing.  Because stability and predictability are important characteristics of any system of justice, change is more evolutionary than revolutionary, but it is meaningful. The law and justice system have been and continue to be a force for the recognition and promotion of human rights and equality.  I would also like the public to know that an important feature of our justice system is judicial independence.  Judges must carry out our duties and decide cases without political influence, and without being swayed by media commentary or other public opinion.  Judges must understand the social context of the case we are deciding, but we must come to our decisions based on the evidence before us, and legal principles that apply in the dispute, and not external considerations.  Finally, I would like the public to know how hard juries work and how seriously they take their responsibilities.  Juries are called upon to decide our most serious, consequential and difficult criminal cases.  I am forever impressed with the care and diligence I observe in the work of juries.