A Visit To The Law Courts

Teaching a class of immigrant students comes with its own perks and advantages. A core component of the curriculum is going on field trips and I make full use of it to educate my students about anything and everything they might have in mind about Canada. Yesterday, Gayane's class and mine went on one such field trip to the law courts in New West, arranged exclusively for us by the Justice Education Society of BC. Our students learn about English for the workplace, work skills, the Canadian workplace culture, labor market information, employability in Canada, and other related settlement issues. They learn about labor laws, working in BC, the court system in Canada, and so on, and it was in this regard that we got the unique opportunity of visiting the courthouse and watching the legal system at work.

We were met in the lobby of the courthouse by a Sheriff who explained the do's and the don'ts to all of us while the courts were in session. He also listed out a list of interesting trials that were going on in the different courtrooms. No wonder then that most of us zeroed in on a sensational murder trial that was on, one that involved cocaine trafficking, prostitutes, and a triple homicide! It was very difficult to believe that the innocent looking defendant could have been capable of committing such heinous crimes. It was quite riveting to watch the prosecutor and the defense attorney in action in the august presence of the judge, and considering that this was a high profile case, the entire action was behind bullet proof glass, with the arguments amplified by microphones for the benefit of the audience seated behind the glass barriers. We were free to walk into any of the courts that were in session, and we all took turns visiting the provincial courts on the second floor, the small claims courts, and also the superior courts. Quite a lesson about the legal system, I might say!

We also had the unique privilege of having a private session with Judge Steinberg, and what an interesting Q & A session that was! Mine was the first question for him: "As a judge, do you get to pick and choose the cases that you like or want? If not, who assigns the cases to the various judges?," I asked. From there, a volley of questions from the students kept flying, and I was quite proud that they all asked sensible questions indeed. Let me just say that even Judge Steinberg was impressed! He was very keen to find out where my students hailed from and having learned that they came from different parts of the globe, commented that this was possible only in Canada. True indeed, it was a valuable lesson of sorts for these new immigrants from Korea, China, Japan, Thailand, Russia, Mexico, Iran, Cambodia, Brazil, etc., etc. The judge seemed to have visited many countries himself, and when I told him I was originally from India, he asked me if I came from Madras. It looks like he had visited Madras a long time ago, and was interested to learn that the city has since been renamed Chennai.

The visit to the courthouse reinforced the fact that the judiciary is a vital part of any efficiently functioning country, and along with the executive and the legislative branches, forms virtually the backbone of a nation. The respect and deference accorded to the judge and the attorneys almost tempted me to abandon my teaching profession, join law school and take up a legal career in the future. How old is too old to start a new career? Who knows, perhaps I might!!!