SELECTING JUDGES-A TEMPEST IN A TEAPOT

1. Introduction

   A little over a year ago, many senior Canadian judges, lawyers and legal academics got themselves in high dudgeon over the federal government’s plan to appoint law enforcement officials to its seven person superior court trial judges’ selection committees. The complainants seemed to think that if candidates of this type did get appointed, thousands of offenders would soon receive far longer sentences than they are now receiving.
   The uninformed governmental plan and the critical responses were much ado about very little. Here is why.