Index
Intro
Judges adjudicate civil and criminal cases and administer justice in courts of law. Judges preside over federal and provincial courts.
Main Duties
Judges perform some or all of the following duties:
- Preside over courts of law, interpret and enforce rules of procedure and make rulings regarding the admissibility of evidence
- Instruct the jury on laws that are applicable to the case
- Weigh and consider evidence in non-jury trials and decide legal guilt or innocence or degree of liability of the accused or defendant
- Pass sentence on persons convicted in criminal cases and determine damages or other appropriate remedy in civil cases
- Grant divorces and divide assets between spouses
- Determine custody of children between contesting parents and other guardians
- Enforce court orders for access or support
- Supervise other judges and court officers.
Judges may specialize in particular areas of law such as civil, criminal or family law.
Employment Requirements
- Extensive experience as a lawyer or as a professor of law with continuous membership in the bar association is usually required.
- Membership in good standing with a provincial or territorial law society or bar association is required.
- Judges are appointed by federal or provincial cabinets.
- Those appointed to more senior positions in a court, such as chief justice, usually have experience as judges in that court.
All Titles
- administrative judge
- appellate court judge
- associate chief justice
- chief justice
- county court judge
- county judge
- Court of Queen’s Bench justice
- deputy justice
- district and surrogate court judge
- district court judge
- family court judge
- federal court justice
- federal court justice – trial division
- Federal Court of Appeal justice
- federal trial court justice
- judge – law
- justice
- juvenile court judge
- magistrate court judge
- probate court judge
- provincial court judge
- provincial court of appeal justice
- provincial supreme court justice
- puisne judge
- small claims court judge
- superior court justice
- Supreme Court justice
- Supreme Court of Canada justice
- Tax Court judge
- trial court judge
- youth court judge
Exclusions
- Administrative tribunal judges (See 0411 Government managers – health and social policy development and program administration)
- Citizenship court judges (See 1227 Court officers and justices of the peace)
- Justices of the Peace (See 1227 Court officers and justices of the peace)