= ———SS— OL LLPLLISL ALDER LALLA ALLE LAI ALLE Page 12 Cassiar Courier January 1987 PEOPLE OF OUR COURT ry Lorraine Laateigne & Every society has a system of checks and balances that keep it acceptable to itself. Laws are required to give the people guidelines for co-existance and a common ground for acknowledging the system of authority estab- lished within society. The legal system has many com- ponents. We recognize mostly those persons employed as law enforcement officers and seldom (unless we have cause to run afoul of the law) see the judicial part of the _ system in progress. Cassiar is a part of the “court circuit”? administered by the Office of the Attorney General. Court is held lo— cally approximately every two months. Our community is one that because of its northern location and size, has no courthouse, judge or lawyers residing here. We are, therefore, a responsibility of a “travelling court”. At the last court sitting held in Cassiar in December, I had the opportunity to visit with and interview most of the people that travel on the circuit. Some are regulars and others only come when they are assigned to do so, or are lawyers who arc hired independently. I found them all to be friendly, responsible people, most of whom were family men and women. Each and everyone felt a con- cern for the communities in which they worked and held a deep commitment to their professional responsibilities. DENNIS OVEREND Judge Dennis Overend, who lives in Vernon, B.C. was appointed to the bench in 1979. He is a married man and has seven children. Besides the northern circuit which includes Atlin, Lower Post, Cassiar and Good Hope Lake; Overend is also a judge in the Okanagan, sitting from Penticton to Revelstoke. Being a provincial court judge, he can preside anywhere in the province, but spends fifty percent of his time in Vernon. When on the northern circuit, he travels over three thousand miles and spends as long as a week in the different communities performing his court duties. In order to become a judge in B.C., one needs to have practiced law a minimum of five years and be recom-. mended by the Judicial Council of B.C., comprised of the Chief Judge, two other judges, the Secretary of the Law. Society, and three or four individual laypersons. Usually a lawyer will apply to become a judge. All of the candidates are interviewed and the candidates’ names are sent by the Judicial Council to the Attorney Gen- eral who conducts further investigations and makes the final appointments. They system is so designed to pro- tect it trom (to a large degree) political influence. After sixteen years practicing law, Overend felt he had accepted all of the challenges that working in the system as a lawyer offered and put his name forward to stand as a judge. His greatest challenge was to change roles. Accustomed to being an advocate as a lawyer, Over- end concentrated on his responsibility as a judge‘to make fair decisions according to the law... This learning process continues and Overend spends a great deal of his out of court time studying new legislation and reviewing the old. Keeping abreast of the law, especially since the Charter of Rights is important. : Appeals can be made on the judges’ decisions. “Mis- takes are made,” says Overend, “but the system makes all- owances for recourse.” Overend advises the general public to come to court ~and see the judicial process in action. “We have a court system in this country that is not available in many parts of the world. The system is not perfect, but the best way for the public to be aware of how the system functions is to’attend court!” Besides being a father of seven, Overend enjoys read- ing, golfing and is a member of a barber shop chorus in which he sings bass. Iris Warde, who is a court clerk, has been at her job for nine and a half years. She trained in Fort St. John where she lives with het family. She works at the court- house in her,community; but travels with the northern circuit. my, 47,7 *> hh 4 3 : : tA “IRIS WARDE Her duties with the court include preparing the doc- ket, opening and closing court, calling the cases, reading of charges to the accused (when directed by the judge) and, while court is in progress, Warde endorses the infor- mation as to any order made by the court. She is the person who swears in witnesses and is responsible for pro- cessing the after-court documents. In Canada the lawyers representing a case do not approach the bench, but use the court clerk as a liaison between the parties before the court and the bench, Warde also keeps the books for her husband’s bus- iness and enjoys swimming and reading, ALAN RAYMENT Alan Rayment is a deputy sheriff of British Columbia His first question to me was “Do you do this for a living or are you just nosey?”, as we sat with others from the court at lunch. Rayment lives at Fort St. John, is married with children and even grandchildren. He enjoys dancing close, short wave radio, and collects stones. for the "purpose of making jewelry, He also makes his own beer. A~ very -interesting man, Rayment was a London Metropolitan policeman (England) for twelve years. In Canada, he has been a city constable in Medicine Hat, Alberta, and Nelson, B.C. Rayment joined the Sherriff’s Department in February, 1975. His duties are varied, some of which are the transportation of prisoners between court and place of imprisonment; enforcement of seizure and sale. In general he carries out the orders and require- ments of the court. He is an officer of the court and is employed by the Attorney General’s Department, Court Services. One of his duties, which I found interesting, is that he is one of the people responsible for choosing people who are called for jury duty. Once the jury is chosen, Ray- ment then sees to the safety and seclusion of the jury. Sherriffs are not law enforcement on tthe street. They do hot carry guns and are not called to perform duties of the R.C.M.P., Provincial or Municipal Police. Joseph S. Temple is a federally appointed prosecutor for the Food and Drug Act and the Narcotic Control Act. His duties are to prosecute charges brought under these two acts. Temple is a married man and resides in Fort St. John. He travels with the court only when charges have been laid under these acts. ‘He is employed'with the law firm “of Callison & Company in Fort St: Johns +2 ~ iis JOSEPH S TEMPLE “Every substance is legal until expressly determined to be illegal.” says Temple. Under the Food and Drug Act there are a few common names such as L.S.D., Ampheta- mines, M.D.A., Mescaline and Psilocybin (magic mush- rooms), but there are many more listed. The Narcotics Act is very specific and includes the natural products that are in opium, such as heroin, codiene and morphine, as well as Cannabis Sativa prepar- ations or T.H.C. derivatives or similar synthetic prepar- ations. Hash is the resin from marijuana and cocaine comes from the cocoa leaf. PAUL OBRIEN Paul O’Brien is a lawyer from Whitehorse, with the » firm of O’Brien and Smith. He specializes in criminal defence cases. He has appeared in Cassiar at different hearings over the past four or five years. O’Brien has been practicing law for ten years. SiS He is a family man who enjoys hunting, fishing, squash and weight lifting. Community involvements in- clude the Whitehorse Elementary School Committee and the Yukon Conservation Society.” Rob Watts is a Probation Officer and Family Court Counsellor. He works with adults, youths, and with couples who are in the process of separation. Watts is employed by the Ministry of the Attorney General, Cor- rections Branch. An interesting development between Watts and the Cassiar Community Club is that the Corrections Branch has entered into a contract with the C.C.C. whereby the C.C.C. will be remunerated for each hour of community service work completed, as assigned to an individual by the judge. “This way,” says’ Watts, “the community is served not only by the individual, but in a very real sense with monetary support going to the community club.” Gary Periard - will: continue «to: direct the’ Community. Service Program. Keaiies Rete a coh he, tl SS tes MRERE T H { i | > ? 1 | | ' ROB: WATTS Watts lives in Usk (14 miles outside of Terrace) and calls himself a “bush baby’. The Watts built their own home along the banks of the Skeena River and enjoy their garden and greenhouse. The children (four of them) are involved in swimming, hockey and figure skating, and the family is as busy as many of us with the activities that surround the children. ‘eto } LR canes keel FORREST NELSON Forrest Nelson who works for Legal Services of British Columbia appears at court often and is well known in Cassiar. Nelson’s job is to provide the services of a GOOD—BYE BUSY DECEMBER Jawyer in cases serious enough to warrent civil or crim- inal representation to clients who are unable to afford these services. Providing public legal education is also a major part of his work. “Dispelling myths is part of the education.” says Nelson. BEN CARDINAL Ben Cardinal calls himself ‘a jack of all trades!” A court worker who deals with family, civil, and court cases, Cardinal refers people who need assistance to community agencies. He is employed by the Native Court Workers and Councilling Association of British Columbia. There are forty-seven such workers across the province. He enjoys photography, creative writing and reading, with Stephen King being one of his favourite authors. Cardinal is single and lives in Fort St. John. i Pits < GLEN STASIUK Family and defence lawyer, Glen Stasiuk, was acting With the advent of the New Year upon us and with the passing of a busy December, we present to you a few pictures that will bring memories not long made of this most seasonal of all months. Chiera Borsato made a most heavenly angel and what party could be complete without Mickey and his friends. Walter Comper’s work on the Ptarmigan Players latest production helped to bring fantasy to life. Courier Christmas Story Contest winners, Katherine Lanteigne and Vanessa Clark, were presented with their prizes by Karen Taplin and Lisa McKenna is out on the town with son Shamus.at the Cargl Sing and Tea held by the Anglican and Catholic.Ladies. ,-_, ay aaa PSS ESS eS AS Crown Council on this trip. He does not usually travel with the court, but has been here as Defence Council in the past. He has his own firm, Glen A.P. Stasiuk, in Dawson Creek, where he lives with his wife and three children. He likes to listen to jazz, plays the guitar and is a home computer enthusiast. HOLLY TRYON Ms. Holly Tryon of Dawson Creek, B.C. is the court recorder. Her duties are to record all court proceedings and to prepare the transcripts as requested on the said proceedings. She has been performing this job for six years and began in Dawson. She is a member of Dionysus Theatre Company in Dawson Creek and loves to sing, act, and dance. She says that the theatre group hopes to do “Cinderella” in May. As well she is the Federal Returning Officer for Prince George and Peace River. A wife and mother, Tryon is also the bookkeeper for her husband’s business. It is my observation that the court system is a structured organization that tries to the best of its ability to dispense justice in our society. The legal process is pragmatic and those who work within the system work with the realization that they are responsible for decisions which have a major effect upon peoples’ lives. There are very serious matters that the aforementioned people must deal with as part of their professional lives. However, I noticed a thread of humour and understanding running through each and every one of them which makes them like all the rest of us...people trying to do the best job they can. The final word will be left to Judge Overend: “These people who travel with the court treat Cassiar in a professional manner; they feel that the people of the Cassiar - Good Hope area are as important as those in their individual home towns!”’ Cassiar Courier January !987 Page 13 “WORKING FOR U