Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Liard (Mar 31/00) - After a number of unsuccessful attempts to establish a justice committee in Fort Liard, Irene McLeod has decided to take matters into her own hands by becoming a justice of the peace (JP).

She and fellow Fort Liard resident Martha Drake have moved up the ladder together, passing their administrative level I and II as well as presiding level I and II. Upon passing presiding level I, McLeod was presented with a robe and is addressed in court as "your worship."

She is now able to swear-in information, conduct show cause hearings, issue or cancel summons, issue search warrants and warrants for arrest, and marry couples.

"I've conducted two weddings already," she said, smiling.

McLeod's first JP appointment from the GNWT came in 1980, but she chose not to take the course then.

"I didn't feel like it was a good time for me," she said, adding that she felt she needed to be "older and wiser." She said that it's important to set an example in the community first so people will take you seriously.

When she did decide to take the first course in 1996, she was handed a thick binder full of information. It would have been even more intimidating if she didn't already have some previous knowledge of the justice system, she said. The terminology, in particular, can be inhibiting, she added.

To become more familiar with the court environment and the various proceedings, McLeod has been sitting with Judge Robert Halifax when the territorial court circuit passes through Fort Liard.

"I'm always amazed how he gets to such a fast verdict," she said, then noted that he has accumulated decades of experience.

In a courtroom, JPs can only deal with summary offences -- such as mischief or break and enters -- not indictable ones. Since attaining her presiding level II in January, she has been able to preside over sentence hearings. Her first was earlier this month, but as legal matters often go, she had to adjourn the only case because the accused had not yet spoken to a lawyer.

McLeod will be eligible to preside over trials upon the completion of presiding level III, she said. When enough JPs in the NWT are prepared to make that same jump, a workshop will be arranged.

One of the most challenging, but imperative, things to remember as a JP is to discount prior knowledge of an accused that does not relate to the case at hand. She can only take into account what the Crown and defence lawyers put in front of her, she said.

"It doesn't matter that you know the (accused)."

The Fort Liard RCMP are certainly grateful to have justices of the peace in the community, according to Const. Merle Carpenter. Last fall, for example, there were 109 charges on a docket, many of them summary matters.

"It helps us tremendously ... it will cut down the time that the judge or the territorial court spends in our community," Carpenter said.