The bestselling author and lawyer Philip Slayton discusses his new book, Mighty Judgement: How the Supreme Court Runs Your Life (Allen Lane, 2011), with Joseph Planta.

Mighty Judgement: How the Supreme Court Runs Your Life by Philip Slayton. (Allen Lane, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Mighty Judgement

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

An interesting and important book was published a month ago, in the midst of the federal election campaign. The author made a plea that in the campaign, it was necessary to think about the Supreme Court of Canada, as the next prime minister would have to appoint at least four judges to it, thus shaping or reshaping Canada in the process, years down the line, long after the prime minister was gone from office. See, the Supreme Court of Canada, other than being an arbiter of cases that make its way to the highest court of the land, the court in recent years, since the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, has decided many laws in the absence of our politicians. References to the Supreme Court often decide the limits of policy and law. And since the election, two Supreme Court justices have announced their retirement, bringing the number of judges who could be appointed by Stephen Harper to at least five. The author of Mighty Judgement: How the Supreme Court Runs Your Life joins me now. Philip Slayton is the bestselling author of Lawyers Gone Bad, and writes for Canadian Lawyer magazine. He is a Rhodes Scholar and was a law clerk on the Supreme Court. He retired in 2000 as a senior partner at the firm, Blake, Cassels and Graydon. His website is at www.philipslayton.com. The book is published by Allen Lane, which is an imprint of Penguin. I’ve also become a fast fan of the GabnDad movie reviews he does on You Tube. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, in Vancouver this day, Philip Slayton; Good morning, Mr. Slayton.

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