Lords of the Western Bench

Awaiting new edition release: “Lords and Ladies of the Western Bench”

by Louis Knafla and Richard Klumpenhouwer

By The Honourable Mr. Justice J.W. McClung
Court of Appeal of Alberta, Edmonton, February 1997

Alberta’s substantial contribution to the development of Canadian law has been unique and colourful. Beginning with the first summary trials by NWMP Justice of the Peace James F. Macleod in 1874, the region’s courts would witness an ongoing accommodation between the ponderous, yet adaptable British traditions of jurisprudence and the uneven demands of a new and rapidly expanding frontier. The Stipendiary Magistrates, followed by the Supreme and District Court judges, would take the lead in establishing and protecting the authority of la in Alberta by their collective intelligence and resourcefulness. They met this immense challenge, not in spite of, but by their passion and humanity. In this way, the lives and careers of Alberta’s judiciary chronicled here help us to gain a greater appreciation of and to celebrate the rule of law in Alberta’s rich history. The authors, Louis Knafla and Richard Klumpenhouwer, are to be congratulated on their conception and development of this remarkable collection.