A judge’s work week is a bit like an iceberg. What happens in the courtroom is only the visible tip. Outside the courtroom, judges prepare for hearings, review evidence, research legal issues, write decisions and perform other duties. To offer a behind-the-scenes look at judging, one Provincial Court judge agreed to keep a log of their activities for a few days.

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

On Thursday, the judge conducted six Small Claims Settlement Conferences. On Friday, they researched and wrote reasons for judgment in Wednesday’s family court trial. researched the law applicable to an upcoming trial and worked on a project for the court committee.

 How typical is this?

Many aspects of the log are typical for BC Provincial Court judges during weeks when they are assigned to conferences and short matters rather than longer trials. When assigned to hear longer trials, they may spend from one day to several weeks hearing a single trial, with occasional interruptions to deal with shorter matters. 

While this judge arrives very early and works before the day starts, others choose to work after court, in the evenings and on weekends.  This judge is relatively new to the bench. As time goes on and a judge becomes more familiar with all areas of the Court’s work the time needed for preparation will lessen. However, they will still need to review files in advance to be ready to hear a case and respond to the issues raised.

Many different cases in a day

BC Provincial Court judges often deal with several areas of law and several types of proceedings in one day. In addition to scheduled cases, when a judge finishes the cases set in their courtroom, they may be assigned to hear cases moved from another courtroom or to hear cases from another courthouse remotely.

 Preparation

Judges are assigned to a courtroom for a day or more and can see a list of the case files scheduled for that courtroom. They will generally review the files assigned to them and look up the applicable law if they’re not familiar with it. 

Judges can now review most files electronically, meaning they can do so at any time from home or from any courthouse, although they may need to get paper copies of documents filed at the last minute. Although most judges likely don’t start at 6:00 am, working in the evening and on weekends is common.

“Preparing a file” before court involves reviewing the documents filed by the parties (pleadings, affidavits and reports), the record of what happened in previous court appearances, any orders made previously, and the law that applies to the issues in the case. 

The type of preparation judges do may  vary, depending on their experience and expertise in various areas of law. A judge whose experience as a lawyer was largely in criminal cases, for example, will spend more time researching and preparing for family and civil cases. As they build knowledge and experience in those areas, they may not need as much preparation time. 

For management and settlement conferences, the judge may consider possible outcomes and approaches to help the parties resolve issues. Even more experienced judges will spend a few hours preparing for a day of conferences. 

This judge prepares files in two steps. They conduct a thorough file review the day before to ensure sufficient time for preparation. The next morning, they review those files quickly to help them recall the facts and law for each case. Making sound decisions in multiple cases when time is limited requires intense concentration and a good memory. As the judge explained, “Cognitively your brain has to be ready to switch quickly to different areas of law and this can be challenging!”

Mentoring

When preparing for a proceeding or issue that is new to them, a judge may reach out to a more experienced colleague for information. Experienced judges volunteer to mentor recently appointed judges and judges consult colleagues throughout their careers. One judge doesn’t tell another how to decide an issue, but they may point them to statute or caselaw that could be helpful.

 Travel

Although each judge has an office in one courthouse, they are appointed to a region and can be assigned to work in any courthouse in the region. They can also be sent to other regions as needed. This judge worked in one city on Monday, a different one on Tuesday, and back to the first on Wednesday, entailing two hour drives after court each day. Judges often travel even longer distances and spend more time driving to different court locations. Judges in the Northern Region usually travel the longest distances since their region covers an area larger than Alberta.

The surprising thing about a judge’s work

Reflecting on their log, the judge commented:

“After my appointment as a judge, I found the most surprising aspect of the role was how busy the days are and how many hours judges work outside the courtroom. As a lawyer appearing in court, I had no idea of all the work judges were doing behind the scenes to ensure court time is used efficiently and effectively.”

Photo by Tina Rolf