First Female Judge

An Albertan Appoints

First Female Judge

in Canada & the British Empire

WATCH this 7 minute video about Alberta's FAMOUS FIVE women:

And now the true story of 

how women became "persons"...

In January of 1916, the Alberta’s Attorney General, Charles Cross, appointed EmilyMurphy as judge.

You see Emily Murphy was appalled at the treatment women received in all-male courtrooms.  So Mrs. Murphy (aka Janey Canuck – a “canuck” is a nickname for Canadian), petitioned the Alberta government to set up a separate “women’s court” and became its first judge or magistrate.

So to her surprise, on her very first day, as judge, in her courtroom, a male lawyer, questioned whether her judgements would even be valid, considering that she was not legally a “person.”

According to the BNA Act (click on it to find out what it is), only “persons” could be judges, etc.  And British common law (the large history of rulings by previous judges which is the law as well as laws passed by Parliament), held that women were not considered legal persons in matters of “rights and privileges.”

This was legally tested against another female Alberta judge - female Police Magistrate Alice Jamieson.  Jamieson, had sentenced a woman – Lizzie Cyr - to 6 months hard labour for vagrancy.  The woman’s male lawyer argued that the ruling was inadmissible since Jamieson was not “legally” considered a person and therefore could not be a judge.

Happily, on June 14, 1917, 
the Supreme Court of Alberta

(Judge David Scott) ruled that the term “persons” did apply to women as well.

Now remember, Mrs. Murphy was appointed before women were ever granted the vote in Alberta or any other province inside Canada.  So in the Province of Alberta, Alberta male electors elected male politicians who appointed female judges and then Alberta male judges agreed that women were indeed “persons” under the law.

But the Alberta Supreme Court decision only applied to Alberta.  So for the next 10 years, Albertan and Canadian Emily Murphy – aka Janey Canuck - tried to persuade no less than 4 Canadian Prime Ministers to appoint a female Senator – preferably her.  Does this sound familiar - Albertans trying to convince Ottawa (and the rest of Canada) to do something fair and logical?  Think about the elected Alberta Senators (back in the 1990s) that a certain Prime Minister chose not recommend to the Governor General.

So Mrs. Murphy got fed up and took the matter to the Supreme Court of Canada (with the help of 4 other Alberta First Ladies 

– the Famous Five).

Sadly, on April 24, 1928, the Supreme Court of Canada announced that women were NOT legally persons.

What? Huh?

The Albertan women – and Albertans - had been overruled by the highest court in the land.  As we know, Albertans have been rejected and snubbed, by the highest in Canada, many times since.

But there was one last court of appeal, for Albertan and Canadian British Subjects back in those days – The British Privy Council in London, England.  NOTE:  Canada only gained control of its foreign and domestic policy from England in 1931.

Happily, on October 18, 1929, a bunch of old and white British gentleman

declared women people.

“We’ve won, We’ve won,” Emily Murphy is reported as saying when she heard the news.

But sadly, Emily Murphy was never ever appointed to Canada’s Senate.  I’m sure if the Senate was elected, Albertans would have gladly made her Canada’s first female Senator,

but alas, it was up to a Central Canadian Prime Minister.

Ironically, the first and longest serving Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada is an Albertan from Pincher Creek, Alberta.  And she was appointed in January of 2000 and served until 2017. Her name is Beverly McLachlin (Click on her name for more info).

Albertans!

Keep up the good work.

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