Judge & justice of the peace - path & insight?

[MOL]

My experience is dated but when I did crim I found a number of JP's in Ontario who were not lawyers were superb and superior to some of the judges that I appeared in front of. A number were abysmal and should never have been appointed. They do, or at least at that point did, most of the bail hearings which are pretty much critical to anyone trying to mount a successful criminal defence; i.e. no bail, the chances of pleading guilty go up astronomically. I would lean towards making it a requirement that they be lawyers like in Alberta. 

OP, it is not impossible to get called to the Bench when you are starting at 40  but as others have said it is not probable. I would agree with those who have said go into law because you want to practice law. Being a judge is cool and all but it is also a very tough grind. I know a few and they work their asses off. If you put that amount of work into practicing law, you will do ok on the ROI front but again, don't go into law for $. Go into it because you think you will like the work. It's a long haul to get called to the Bar and then till you retire even if you start at 40. You don't want to do it all and then find you hate it. 

Best of luck with your decision.

[Lulu_spector]

On 4/17/2022 at 8:28 AM, MOL said:

My experience is dated but when I did crim I found a number of JP's in Ontario who were not lawyers were superb and superior to some of the judges that I appeared in front of. A number were abysmal and should never have been appointed. They do, or at least at that point did, most of the bail hearings which are pretty much critical to anyone trying to mount a successful criminal defence; i.e. no bail, the chances of pleading guilty go up astronomically. I would lean towards making it a requirement that they be lawyers like in Alberta. 

OP, it is not impossible to get called to the Bench when you are starting at 40  but as others have said it is not probable. I would agree with those who have said go into law because you want to practice law. Being a judge is cool and all but it is also a very tough grind. I know a few and they work their asses off. If you put that amount of work into practicing law, you will do ok on the ROI front but again, don't go into law for $. Go into it because you think you will like the work. It's a long haul to get called to the Bar and then till you retire even if you start at 40. You don't want to do it all and then find you hate it. 

Best of luck with your decision.

My apologies for the hug reaction, but your response warranted one. Thank you. Your response is so needed right now and appreciated. 

Edited April 24, 2022 by Lulu_spector

[MOL]

No worries, best of luck. Will be interested to hear what you decide to do.

[ChuckTchobanian]

I know a couple of people who were appointed at 10-12 years but I’d say that is pretty rare. I debate whether I’d want to be a judge and we debate this at work. I would if the opportunity was there, but I actually don’t think being a judge is the be-all and end-all it was years ago when the only options were being a judge or a lawyer. I practice a lot of admin and labour law and sometimes I think the arbitrators/adjudicators have a better gig than the judges. Good money, interesting work, bit more control over schedule, not as many restrictions on your social/personal life as a judge does, and still have the opportunity to influence the law/jurisprudence. There are also many more statutory offices than before which can have a lot of influence, like Privacy Commissioner and Ombudsman and things like that. All that to say, even if you don’t become a judge, there are many more options for lawyers nowadays than in the 1970s for example.