Going straight to the top
Justice James Adams to be appointed head of national judges’ association
For most people, retirement from a full-time job usually means the chance to enjoy some rest and relaxation. But for one St. John’s judge, ending his career will be the beginning of an extremely busy few years.
Newfoundland Supreme Court Justice James Adam will rete from the bench in late August. And while he expects to travel the country and the world, the trips will be in a professional capacity.
A few weeks before he’s set to officially step down from his permanent position and move to supernumerary (part-time) status, Adams will be appointed president of the Canadian Superior Courts Judges Association (CSCJA).
He will be the first judge from Newfoundland Supreme Court trial division and only the second judge ever from this province to be named to the position. The first was Justice John O’Neill, a retired judge from the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal, who was president in 1997-98.
According to its website, the association represents close to 1,000 judges — about 95 per cent of all federally appointed judges — who serve on the superior courts and courts of appeal of each province and territory, as well as on the Federal Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal and the Tax Court of Canada.
Its mandate is to protect and enhance judicial independence, provide continuing education for judges, improve the administration of justice and promote public understanding of the role judges play in the justice system.
Adams — who has been a member of the CSCJA executive for about a dozen years and is in the final year of his two-year tenure as vice-president — is glad to be taking on a new challenge.
“It’s an exciting prospect and a daunting one in many ways, but I’m looking forward to it in anticipation …,” he said.
“It will be an interesting way to cap off my career as a full-time judge.”
The law has been a big part of Adams’ life for a long time.
After graduating with a bachelor of arts (majoring in political science and history), Adams attended the University of New Brunswick Law School, graduating in 1975.
He articled and then practised at the esteemed law firm Halley, Hunt, Hickman and Adams in St. John’s.
The Adams of the firm was his uncle — William G. Adams, a former St. John’s mayor and former Newfoundland Supreme Court judge.
“I wanted to be a lawyer since I was a little boy, and it was probably because he was a lawyer, since he was the only lawyer in our family,” Adams said.
“I always admired him and he took an interest in my education and career,” he said of his uncle.
Adams was on the firm’s management committee when it eventually became the regional firm, Cox and Palmer.
It was shortly after that, in 1996, when Adams was appointed to the bench.
He served his first three years in Newfoundland Supreme Court in Grand Bank, where there had been an opening, but was then transferred to St. John’s.
Adams has seen many changes in criminal law over the years.
Perhaps the biggest, he said, has been the use of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the way lawyers are using it in pre-trial applications.
“The number of Charter applications that are heard has increased, and that takes a tremendous amount of time and judicial consideration,” he said.
“They can take up to many, many months and weeks of hearings and then extensive legal briefs.
“It’s quite a lot of work to review the evidence, consider the law and make up one’s mind about whether a) somebody’s Charter rights have been broken and b) what remedy might be give under Section 24 of the Charter.”
Unlike in the United States, he said, where if there’s a breach of a person’s constitutional rights the evidence is almost always never permitted, in Canada it is not an automatic exclusion.
“I’m a great fan of the Charter,” he said. “It gives fundamental pro- tections to every member of society …
“One has to remember that a person is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. These are not technicalities that some people think they may be. They are fundamental freedoms that every Canadian enjoys, and whether one has a criminal record or not, these are fundamental rights and freedoms that we should all be very proud of and support.
“Sometimes, the exercise of those rights and freedoms will lead to a matter not being prosecuted. That, in my view, is a small price to pay for the overall good that they have done in society, generally.”
Adams has been active in the legal profession outside his regular duties.
As a lawyer, he was the president of the Newfoundland of the Canadian Bar Association and served on several national committees during the 1980s and early ’90s.
He wanted to continue his service after he was appointed a judge.
“I’ve always felt it was important for judges, or for anybody involved in the profession, to become involved in the maintenance of aims and objectives of the association,” he said.
As president, there are a number of things he would like to see achieved — the biggest being the implementation of the quadrennial Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission’s report on judge’s salaries and benefits.
“It’s in government’s hands now and they will make their decision known during my tenure as presi- dent, so I’m very hopeful that report will be implemented,” he said.
The association plays a big role in such issues, since the judiciary is an independent branch of government. Maintaining that independence is crucial, Adams said.
“Judiciary independence is a little misunderstood, but extremely important, — not for judges, but for the people of Canada,” he said.
“Canada is blessed with an inde- pendent judiciary and it’s important to maintain that, the rule of law, and ensure that when people come before us, they have complete confidence the decisions we render will be based on the evidence on the law alone and not influenced in any way.
“We take that for granted here in Canada. … In many parts of the world, there is no public or media access, so they can’t have any confidence of getting a fair hearing.”
Adam is glad that, when he moves to supernumerary status, he will have the time to focus on such matters.
“In my first year (as president), I won’t have much time to myself,” he said.
“But perhaps after that I will have more time to do the things I like to do, outside work.”