Law and Order: Conservative Judges Unit

Conservatives have long loved to whine about radical Liberal judges. If a Liberal government made a judicial appointment and the appointee had even walked past a television showing an episode of the West Wing once the howling over bias would begin.

That's why I'm glad to see that, now that they're in power, the Conservatives are righting those wrongs. And the wrong wasn't that some appointees might have been Liberal, or even liberal. The problem was they weren't conservative. Or, better yet, Conservative. Do as I say...

A reader drew my attention today to Justice Minister Vic (is that what the Elections Act says?) Toews' appointment on Monday of one Dallas Miller as a Judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta . Here's his justice department supplied bio:

Mr. Justice Dallas Miller received a Bachelor of Laws in 1984 from the University of Saskatchewan and a Bachelor of Arts (History) in 1992 from Athabasca University ( Alberta). He was admitted to the Bar of Alberta in 1985 and practised with Gordon, Smith & Company in Medicine Hat (1985-1993) before opening his own firm (1993-2006). Mr. Justice Miller’s practice expertise is in the areas of civil litigation, real estate law, wills and estates law and mediation. He has acted as a Member of the Alberta Provincial Court Nominating Committee (2004-2006), as Judicial District Representative for Medicine Hat for the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association, and as Chair of the Board of Directors of International Justice Mission.

Sounds like a swell guy. But there's a few items that the government biography writers overlooked (space restrictions, I'm sure). Such as:

• Alberta campaign co-chair, 2005 Conservative election campaign. Because it helps to have friends in high places, doesn't it?

Still, you also have to have the creds. Here's his:

• He's a member of the Fraser Institute, but it's not as easy to hold that against him these days, now is it? Toooobiiiin!

Luckily, there's more.

• Mr. Miller is tied to Real Women (they of ending the Status of Women fame), and received the group's National Defender of the Family Award in 1998. Defending it from Liberal judges, no doubt.

• He was an executive director and legal counsel for the Canadian wing of the Home School Legal Defence Association, a U.S.-based conservative lobby group. Here's more on them.

• He has represented the Coalition of Responsible Firearm Owners and Sportsmen and the Christian Legal Fellowship and has served on the Religious Liberty Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The CLF's moto is "integrating Christian faith and law since 1978."
  

• He also has ties to Focus on the Family, and has vehemently defended the right to spank. He's also no friend of the now dead Court Challenges program.

• He has intervened in many fun cases too, I'll leave it to others to read through those decisions. Fun stuff.

So, all in all a really swell guy, just the sort we need on the bench. Fair and Balanced (TM). I guess this is Stephen's way of saying to a certain part of his political base, as he gears up for the election he doesn't want until 2009 "Sorry I screwed you on that whole SSM vote sham thing guys. Here's a judicial appointment. Still love me?"

As I said, I guess it pays to have friends in high places. The list is growing:

• Dallas Miller, his Alberta campaign co-chair, gets a judgeship

• Michael Fortier, his national campaign co-chair, gets appointed to Senate AND a cabinet post

• John Reynolds, his other national campaign co-chair and now a non-lawyer advisor (not lobbyist!) with a law firm, gets appointed to the Queen's Privy Council for Canada

Someone might want to go over the rest of the list if they have time and see how all the other co-chair are faring under Canada's New Government. And don't forget Gwyn Morgan too.

Anyway, what was that Mulroney quote again?

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