Foundations of Justice

by David Mittelstadt

The courthouse has always stood as a symbol of law, order, and civic pride, and has played an important role in reflecting and upholding society’s cultural ideals. With Foundations of Justice, author David Mittelstadt, along with the Legal Archives Society of Alberta, has created a striking work about the history of the courthouses built in Alberta between 1874 and 1950. Based on the author’s extensive research, this volume is generously illustrated with architectural drawings, maps, and photographs, and is rich in both anecdotal detail and informed analysis. Using the historical backdrop of Alberta’s major political periods, Foundations of Justice is an impressive tribute to the buildings in which the province’s early legal history unfolded.

David Mittelstadt has captured the flavour of life in the early communities of Alberta. He describes the efforts of Albertans to lobby politicians to move court proceedings from schoolhouses, opera houses and from hotels where trials competed with noise from the local barroom. Citizens saw the courthouse as the tangible demonstration that their community was going to be a permanent habitation in western Canada. Incidents of local history and political lore spring from these pages to bring alive the early days of Alberta’s past. This is a superbly researched and readable book of interest to lawyers and lay people alike. It will fill a gap in the previously recorded history of Alberta.
~ from the Foreward by Hon. James H. Laycraft, Chief Justice of Alberta (Retired)