Judging in Your First Five Years: Criminal Law (Federally Appointed Judges)

Overview

This intensive five-day program for recently appointed judges was designed to build their  competence in managing criminal trials, from judicial pre-trials to sentencing. As sexual assault trials  pose some of the greatest challenges for the judicial role, the seminar used a sexual assault fact scenario  to anchor the issues and allowed participants to practice the relevant skills, with social context training  integrated throughout. 

Objectives

The objectives of this seminar were: (1) to deliver training in substantive and procedural law  and the law of evidence, including the statutory regimes governing third party records, sexual history  evidence and records in the possession of the accused; (2) to equip participants to adjudicate Charter applications by the accused, manage direct examination and cross-examination, deal with self represented accused, make credibility assessments, and ensure the sufficiency of their reasons for  judgment; and (3) to situate the law governing sexual offences and intimate partner violence more  broadly in their respective social contexts. 

Summary

The program was led by a multi-disciplinary faculty of experienced judges, practitioners, and  academics and was addressed to judges having between one and five years of experience. Participants  engaged in a mix of presentations and breakout exercises based on a sexual assault fact scenario from  pre-trial through to sentencing, with emphasis placed on the skills of trial management. Throughout the  seminar, participants also learned about myths and stereotypes in sexual assault cases, the statistical  realities and social dynamics of intimate partner violence, testimonial accommodations for vulnerable  witnesses, and the experiences of Indigenous women and girls in the criminal justice system.