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Judgment And Opportunity: Decision Assignment On The Mclachlin Court, Peter Mccormick
Judgment And Opportunity: Decision Assignment On The Mclachlin Court, Peter Mccormick
Dalhousie Law Journal
The workload of the Supreme Court of Canada is shared among the Court's nine members, but is this sharing equal with respect to the writing of judgments? A simple count does not provide an answer because not all cases are equally important. This paper develops an objective measure of case importance-the Legal Complexity Index-and applies it to the cases decided by the McLachlin Court. It demonstrates that judgment-delivery opportunities for significant cases have not been shared equally, either overall or with respect to any of the major subdivisions of the caseload. Some judges enjoy the spotlight, while others are relegated …
Sharing The Spotlight: Co-Authored Reasons On The Modern Supreme Court Of Canada, Peter J. Maccormick
Sharing The Spotlight: Co-Authored Reasons On The Modern Supreme Court Of Canada, Peter J. Maccormick
Dalhousie Law Journal
When the Supreme Court of Canada delivers its reasons forjudgment, the normal expectation (the rare "By the Court" decision aside) is that the judgment of the Court-unanimous or majority or even plurality-will be designated as having been delivered by one specific judge. ("The reasons of A, B, C and D were delivered by B.") But in recent decades, the practice has developed for two or more judges to share this formal designation; co-authorships currently account for one judgment (and, for that matter one set of minority reasons) in every ten. This article explores this practice, unusual among comparable national high …
The Most Dangerous Justice: Measuring Judicial Power In The Lamer Court, 1991-97, Peter Mccormick
The Most Dangerous Justice: Measuring Judicial Power In The Lamer Court, 1991-97, Peter Mccormick
Dalhousie Law Journal
The Suoreme Court is an important national institution, but it is also nine individuals with differing conceptions of the law, the constitution and the judicial role. When the Court divides, which it does about half the time, some judges tend more often than others to write or to sign the reasons that constitute the decision of the Court. This article explores the notion of "judiciapl ower" by looking at the way that judges have written opinions and signed on to the opinions of others for the first seven years of this decade, looking for the "most powerful" (melodramatically: the "most …
R. V. R.D.S.: A Political Science Perspective, Jennifer Smith
R. V. R.D.S.: A Political Science Perspective, Jennifer Smith
Dalhousie Law Journal
Political scientists, including those who study Canadian government and politics, regard the judiciary as a component of the system of governance as a whole. They view it as an institution in relation to other institutions. Thus in The Judiciary in Canada: The Third Branch of Government, Peter Russell examines such issues as the structure of the judiciary in the federal system, the separation of powers and judicial independence, and the appointment, promotion and removal of judges.' As well, political scientists follow the development of the law itself, in areas of peculiar relevance to political life, like electoral law, or of …