Bias in Court

[Observer]

I am interested in gathering data about lawyer's experiences with biased judges and masters. I would like to hear about all forms of bias, but I am especially interested in:

• Bias that judges and masters have shown against sole or small firm practitioners when opposing counsel is from a big firm or government office;
• Bias (in any direction) that judges and masters have shown to lawyers with respect to Israel/Palestine conflict (e.g. Jewish lawyers who feel they have been discriminated against by Muslim/Arab/Palestinian judges or masters or vice-versa).

I am new here, and I realize that this is a very sensitive subject. I welcome any honest responses whether by post or private message, and all will be held in the strictest of confidence.

I'm not trying to ruffle any feathers, but I would like to get a feel for how other lawyers are honestly feeling these days.

 

 

 

[SNAILS]

This is probably not what you are looking for, exactly. We run a lot of bail hearings, and it is quite accepted in the bar that certain Justices of the Peace will release on terms that others will not. You get ones that are very anti-firearms, anti-drugs, and anti-sexual assault.  For example, one accused person (presumed innocent until proven guilty) was placed on conditions where he was not to return to the county (a very large geographic area). On the flip side, there are judges that are easily swayed by an accused person's vulnerable or Indigenous status (s. 493.1 and 493.2 CC).

This is not bias, IMO, but rather differing judicial opinion on the correct application of the law. To say a judicial officer is biased is an attack on their integrity and legitimacy. To say their judicial opinion  is merely incorrect is at most a reason to challenge them on review or appeal.

Then there are justices and JP's who are known to be very, very cranky to lawyers who are not prepared and accused people who talk out of turn (i.e. telling a surety that using the word "shit" one more time will get him thrown out of court).

To answer your question directly:

(1) Bias against solo and small firms - never seen it. There is a correlation, I suppose, between being a lawyer from a well resourced firm with a lot of junior lawyers and law clerks and making well thought out, prepared submissions (everything filed on time, all witnesses fully prepped, all case law thoroughly researched) and thereby winning more often.

(2) Jewish/Palestinian - I'm not even sure how that would ever happen. I suppose a judge could make assumptions from a lawyer's name (Ezra Goldstein / Mohamed Al Najjar), but I highly doubt a judge would care. If you are a lawyer making submissions while draped in the Palestinian flag, chanting "from the river to the sea," I suggest you cut it out and focus on what you should be doing. 

Edited August 31, 2024 by SNAILS