WOMEN JUDGES

Otago Witness, Issue 3430, 9 December 1919, Page 45

WOMEN JUDGES

THEIR WORK. IN CANADA. The following notes on the work of women magistrates and judges in Canada have been received by a Wellington lady from a friend in Vancouver: — The. appointment of Mrs P. R. Jamieson, of Calgary, Alberta, as judge of the Juvenile Court was made about five years ago by the Attoraiey-general as an experiment, at the request of Mr Chadwick, Superintendent of the Provincial Children's Department. It proved a great success, as Edmonton followed by the appointment of Mrs Arthur Murphy, which was later followed by British Columbia, appointing Mrs Ji H. M'Gill to a similar position in Vancouver. Mrs Jamieson and Mrs Murphy were later appointed as police magistrates, with full power for Magistrate's Court work, but are expected to try women only, and are the only two women in this dominion who have power to take evidence and sentence adults, although there are women who are permitted to take evidence but have no power to sentenos. In Alberta the Juvenile Act includes boys and girls up to 18 years of age. After 18 the woman magistrats takes the females in the women's court. Mixed cases, where men and women are arrested under one charge, where one set of evidence will do. are tried by the male magistrate, ana separate cases by the woman magistrate. Mrs Jamieson tells of a man being brought to her through an error to be tried on a minor charge. She tried the case.

In order to secure such appointments Mrs Jamieson suggests that the women's organisations keep asking for them until they get them, and if necessary make it one of the planks in a _ political campaign, the women's vote meaning so much to the politicians. The following ai>9 some notes taken from a conversation with Mrs M'Gill: — Her appointment was made because of the insistent demands of the women's organisations to the Government for such an appointment. The basis for this appointment is the dominion Statute called "The Juvenile Delinquent Act." Any province may proclaim any district or municipality a juvenile court district, and the I/ieutenant-Governor-in-Council may appoint a judge or judges for that district and fix salaries, but the salaries must be paid by the municipality. Judges appoint probation officers, and these appointments aro confirmed by the Attorneygeneral, but the salaries must be paid* by the municipality or city, as the case may be No municipality may be proclaimed a juvenile court djstriot unless provision is made for 1 detention homes and probation officers. After a municipality has been proclaimed a juvenile court distriot no person under 16 years of age may remain in tira police cells for 24 hours, nor may such person be tried in the police court if there are juvenile courts in that district. By courtesy Mrs M'Gill usually deals with girls only, and the male magistrate with boys only, but the appointments are co-equal in jurisdiction, and should occasion arise either sex may be dealt with. The writer says they are now trying to get an arrangement whereby and wnen the testimony is indecent, the adult being tried, whether man or woman, be tried before a woman judge, in order to protect the child, who in such cases is acting as material witness. With regard to women police, Mrs Jamieson says they have one in Calgary, who does mostly patriotic work, speaks to suspects, and reports anything she may find, and secures ths assistance of the policeman. The women judges of the juvenile courts, and women police magistrates, have proved a great success.