Law Day will honour centennial of local Court of Queen’s bench
By Medicine Hat News on March 21, 2019.
Saturday is Law Day across Canada, but the annual event has a special significance in the Hat this year. It’s the centennial of the 1919 construction of the local Court of Queen’s Bench. “I’ve heard it described by judges in Alberta as the crown jewel of courthouses in the province,” said Darren Cahoon, a local lawyer who chairs the Law Day committee. “Few original-style buildings are still in operation. It’s a very beautiful courthouse, with a rich history to it … It’s something Medicine Hatters can be proud of.” Cahoon says the purpose of the annual event is to commemorate the signing of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982. “Various courthouses open themselves up to the community as a way to interface the general public and get people familiar with legal system,” he said. Cahoon hopes to see members of the public gain from the event an enhanced awareness of the legal system’s functioning. “There is a pretty crucial lack of understanding about how our legal system works in the general population,” he said. The main event is a mock trial conducted for Hatters of all ages to familiarize themselves with court proceedings, said Cahoon. “The mock trial is a pretty central piece of most Law Days, just because it takes confusing and difficult-to-understand topics and breaks them down into stories that the average person can relate to,” he said. There will be two showings of this year’s mock trial – one at 11 a.m. and another at 1 p.m. 12-11
