Lawyers Weekly Interview With Retiring Supreme Court of Canada Justice Marie Deschamps

The most recent issue of The Lawyers Weekly features an interview with Justice Marie Deschamps who is retiring from the Supreme Court of Canada:

" 'I think one message about ‘true ethics’ that can be conveyed is that, yes, individual rights have to be protected and safeguarded, but life in society is important, and respect for the other person’s rights…[as well as] life in society implies that there will be constraints'."

"That philosophy was most strongly expressed in her dissents at the Supreme Court, where she heard 682 cases and wrote 117 judgments, as of July 31 — ​she still has six more months to render decisions"

“ 'Certainly, in many cases I’ve been concerned that the rights of society are not given sufficient importance,' Justice Deschamps acknowledged. 'But I’m also concerned that individuals are treated fairly. For example, in criminal law, I may be more concerned with the right of society in the search for truth, but I will make no compromise on the reliability of evidence. In my view, the basic foundation of our criminal law is that the evidence has to be reliable — ​so I am not for wrongful convictions'."

"Yet in ensuring that society is 'a workable place — ​a place where everyone has their place, not only individuals', we must 'take care that we live in a peaceful and just society, and that means having at heart the need to look for the truth,' she said, summing up her perspective on criminal law