Legal System

Judge

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Judges direct what goes on in court. They listen to witnesses and lawyers and decide cases. They have lots of authority and responsibility.

Description

We often picture judges wearing long, curly wigs, banging their desks with a wooden hammer to keep order in the court. But those days are gone. Judges are still authority figures who have a lot of responsibility, but they don’t need wigs to do their job.

Judges conduct civil and criminal court cases. They make sure everyone follows the rules, just like referees at a hockey game.

After all sides have given their evidence (proof), the judge must make a decision. The judge has to be fair and apply the law to the facts of the case. This often means judges spend long hours in an office, reading and writing.

A judge’s decision can have an important effect on people’s lives. For example, deciding that someone is guilty of a crime or who gets custody of the children after a divorce can really change a person’s life.

Judges need good analytical skills and must have expert knowledge of the law. They must be excellent listeners and always be neutral.

Day-to-day work

Main Duties

  • manage cases from beginning to end
  • direct court hearings to make sure everyone follows the rules
  • listen to what is said in court by lawyers, experts and other witnesses
  • analyze evidence (proof), research the law that applies to the case
  • make a decision and explain how it was made 

Work Environment

Judges work in their offices when reading case files and writing decisions. They spend the rest of their time in court hearing cases.  

Judges have a lot of responsibility. This can be stressful and means they work very long hours. They‘re very busy and have to do lots of reading and writing.

Training

There is no “judge school” in Canada.

The federal and provincial governments select judges, depending on the court.

Judges are either former lawyers or former notaries. People who wish to become judges must have practiced as a lawyer or notary for at least 10 years. Some judge positions are only open to lawyers while others are open to notaries as well: it depends on the court.

Lawyers who become judges usually spent their careers representing people in court.

Potential judges are carefully chosen. They need to know the law inside out and have spotless professional and personal reputations.

Salary

Judges make a very good living.  

Their salary is set by the law and is made public. They receive a fixed yearly salary no matter how many hours they work.

Their salary depends on which court they work at. For example, municipal court judges don’t make as much as judges of the Supreme Court of Canada. But most earn more than $200,000 a year.

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