Judith Webster

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Judith Webster is a former judge in Manitoba, Canada. She served as Chief Justice of the Provincial Court of Manitoba from 1993 to 2001, and was the first woman to hold this position.

Manitoba Province of Canada

Manitoba is a province at the longitudinal centre of Canada. It is often considered one of the three prairie provinces and is Canada's fifth-most populous province with its estimated 1.3 million people. Manitoba covers 649,950 square kilometres (250,900 sq mi) with a widely varied landscape, stretching from the northern oceanic coastline to the southern border with the United States. The province is bordered by the provinces of Ontario to the east and Saskatchewan to the west, the territories of Nunavut to the north, and Northwest Territories to the northwest, and the U.S. states of North Dakota and Minnesota to the south.

Canada Country in North America

Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Canada's southern border with the United States is the world's longest bi-national land border. Its capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra. Consequently, its population is highly urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, many near the southern border. Canada's climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.

The Provincial Court of Manitoba hears cases relating to criminal law and family law and other statutes.

Contents

Early life and career

Webster was born and raised in Winnipeg. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba, and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. Before becoming a judge, Webster was a Crown attorney. [1]

Winnipeg Provincial capital city in Manitoba, Canada

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. Centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, it is near the longitudinal centre of North America, approximately 110 kilometres (70 mi) north of the Canada–United States border.

A Bachelor of Arts is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, sciences, or both. Bachelor of Arts programs generally take three to four years depending on the country, institution, and specific specializations, majors, or minors. The word baccalaureus should not be confused with baccalaureatus, which refers to the one- to two-year postgraduate Bachelor of Arts with Honors degree in some countries.

The University of Manitoba is a public research university in Manitoba, Canada. Its main campus is located in the Fort Garry neighbourhood of southern Winnipeg with other campuses throughout the city. Founded in 1877, it is Western Canada's first university. The university maintains a reputation as a top research-intensive post-secondary educational institution and conducts more research annually than any other university in the region.

Provincial Chief Justice

Webster was appointed to the Manitoba Provincial Court in 1989 as a judge in Winnipeg. In 1993, she was named as the court's Chief Justice by provincial Justice Minister Rosemary Vodrey. Her appointment was generally recognized as a significant breakthrough for female judges in the province. [2] As Chief Justice, Webster served on the nominating committee for new provincial judges. [3]

Rosemary Vodrey is a Canadian former politician in Manitoba, Canada. She was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1990 to 1999, and was a senior cabinet minister of the government of Gary Filmon.

She was criticized in 1994, after she transferred Judge Ron Meyers from family violence court to the rural circuit. Two days before the transfer, the Winnipeg Free Press published an interview with Meyers in which he said that he became motivated to specialize in spousal assault cases due to witnessing domestic abuse in his family as a child. Webster described the transfer as a routine reassignment, although she acknowledged that its timing appeared suspicious. Some speculated that Meyers was punished for stepping outside the traditionally detached role of the judiciary, and a number of women's groups called on Webster to reconsider her decision. [4]

<i>Winnipeg Free Press</i> Canadian newspaper

The Winnipeg Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, international, sports, business, and entertainment news. Various consumer-oriented features such as homes and automobiles appear on a weekly basis. The newspaper's main competition is the Winnipeg Sun, a print daily tabloid.

Webster had a sometimes fractious relationship with Vic Toews, who served as provincial Justice Minister from 1997 to 1999. In June 1999, she expressed her "profound disappointment" with what she described as "misleading and inaccurate" statements by Toews about the workload the judges. [5] Toews refused to apologize, and said that official records backed his claims. [6]

Vic Toews Canadian politician

Victor "Vic" Toews, PC, QC is a Canadian jurist and former politician. Toews is a judge of the Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba. He represented Provencher in the House of Commons of Canada from 2000 until his resignation on July 9, 2013, and served in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, most recently as Minister of Public Safety. He previously served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1995 to 1999, and was a senior cabinet minister in the government of Gary Filmon. Prior to his appointment to the judiciary, Toews was a member of the Conservative Party of Canada.

In 2001, Webster assigned herself to oversee an inquest into the murders of two aboriginal sisters the previous February. The sisters had telephoned the police five times, including four calls for the 9-1-1 emergency service, but police cars were only sent after the first and last calls. [7] During this period, Webster announced that judges who preside over inquests would be allowed to set aside official work hours to write their reports. Provincial Justice Minister Gord Mackintosh approved of this decision, saying that it would reduce delays before the reports were released. [8]

9-1-1 emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan (NANP)

9-1-1, also written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency numbers around the world, this number is intended for use in emergency circumstances only, and using it for any other purpose is a crime in certain jurisdictions.

Gordon Henry Alexander Mackintosh is a former Canadian politician who represented the riding of St. Johns in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1993 to 2016. He served as a cabinet minister in the New Democratic Party governments of Gary Doer and Greg Selinger.

Provincial Justice

Webster resigned as Chief Justice in October 2001, citing new provincial legislation that placed a term limit on her position. She was formally exempt from the legislation as the incumbent Chief Justice, but argued that she should abide by its spirit and resign after eight years in the position. [9] She remained an active judge on the provincial court.

Webster issued her report into the 911 murders in October 2002, and made several recommendations to restore confidence in the system. [10] One of her more noteworthy recommendations was that the province should review its zero tolerance legislation for situations of domestic abuse. The law required that police attending a domestic incident must charge the accused, even if the alleged victim did not wish to press charges or if there was no evidence of assault. Webster argued that this policy slowed police response to calls, and adversely affected the workload of other agencies. She also criticized 911's decision to identify all domestic calls as "Priority 1" after the murders, arguing that this actually created a slower response time to real emergencies. [11]

Webster resigned from the bench in 2006. [12]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Kevin Rollason, "View from the bench" [interview with Judith Webster], Winnipeg Free Press, 6 March 1994.
  2. ↑ Paul Samyn, "Webster named chief judge", Winnipeg Free Press, 16 December 1993.
  3. ↑ Mike McIntyre, "Two defence lawyers named provincial court judges", Winnipeg Free Press, 27 July 2000, A6.
  4. ↑ Jim Carr, "Silence in the court" [editorial], Winnipeg Free Press, 10 June 1994; Ruth Teichrob, "Dedicated judge deserves better", Winnipeg Free Press, 6 January 1995.
  5. ↑ Paul McKie, "Top judge takes shot at justice boss", Winnipeg Free Press, 10 June 1999. See also David Kuxhaus, "Judge silent on appointments row", Winnipeg Free Press, 12 May 1998, A4.
  6. ↑ David Kuxhaus, "Toews says stats back up remarks on courtrooms", Winnipeg Free Press, 25 June 1999, 3.
  7. ↑ Bruce Owen, "Chief judge to handle inquest into 911 murders", Winnipeg Free Press, 22 August 2001, A3; Kim Guttormson, "Judge reporting on police response to 911 murders", Winnipeg Free Press, 29 October 2002, A13.
  8. ↑ Kim Guttormson, "Inquest judges get time to write", Winnipeg Free Press, 21 August 2001, A3.
  9. ↑ Mike McIntyre, "Webster resigns as chief judge", Winnipeg Free Press, 25 October 2001, A9.
  10. ↑ "What Judge Judith Webster recommended", Winnipeg Free Press, 30 October 2002, A3.
  11. ↑ Kim Guttormson, "NDP urged to review abuse policy", Winnipeg Free Press, 30 October 2002, A3.
  12. ↑ The Provincial Court of Manitoba: Annual Report, 2006-07, p. 5.
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