NEW JUDGES

By R.C. Tino Bella

The Honourable Justice Joseph Doyle

The friends and relatives of Joseph Doyle have been waiting a long time for his appointment. This transition in career paths may seem stark and sudden, but those who are closest to him have been expecting it for some time.

Joe arrives at the court as a recognized leader in the area of criminal law. However, his life and work experience will bring a wealth of well-rounded knowledge and common sense to the court.

Joe was born and raised (mostly) in Vancouver. His father Pat (lovingly known as “The Bear”) was an ear, nose and throat specialist. His mother was a registered nurse. They met and married in Edmonton and moved to Vancouver after graduation. They started a family and did not stop until there were six kids’ chairs around the dining room table. Joe is the fifth of the six. Family members report that Joe’s parents were initially concerned that he was slower to talk than his older siblings. They assumed he was not talking because the older siblings provided their cute little brother with everything he needed. A family plan was devised to withhold things from Joe. It worked, perhaps too well. He has rarely been quiet at family functions since the 1960s.

In 1969, the Doyle family uprooted and moved to Portland, Oregon, where The Bear completed a sub-specialty fellowship. Joe continues to profess that this experience provides him with some insider understanding of the American psyche, despite the fact that the family returned to Vancouver before his seventh birthday. His family ascribes Joe’s interest in criminal law to this period. He regularly played an elevated version of cops and robbers, with Joe always preferring the role of FBI agent.

The Ukrainian/Irish family was, to say the least, always busy and boisterous. The girls attended Little Flower Academy. The boys attended Vancouver College. All the kids were involved in extracurricular activities. Joe was a natural athlete, participating in basketball, football, baseball, hockey and golf. He continues to golf on a regular basis. His involvement in youth sports as a coach, including coaching hockey and baseball, continued long after his own children finished playing.

After high school, Joe entered the commerce/law program at UBC. This program provided a dual degree in six years. Joe excelled in commerce and entered the law faculty in 1985. He was a full participant in all aspects of the school, playing many intramural sports and becoming president of the Law Students’ Association in 1987/88.

Following graduation, Joe spent a summer immersing himself in the French language in Montreal before starting his articles at the venerable Douglas Symes & Brissenden. Notably, that firm did next to no criminal law. Upon his call, more than one practice group wanted to hire Joe. He accepted a position in the corporate/commercial group as a solicitor, but with the agreement of the firm that he could reserve ten per cent of his time to develop his criminal defence practice.

Over the first year of practice, the ten per cent expanded and the solicitor’s work contracted. Ultimately, his love of criminal law prevailed and he joined the provincial prosecution service in 1992. The weighty and highprofile cases did not come right away. One of Joe’s first prosecutions was a charge under the Barbers Act for barbering without a licence. Joe secured a conviction and obtained the maximum penalty for a first offence, a $15 fine.

The move to the Crown began a relatively peripatetic decade wherein Joe worked at the provincial Crown offices in Vancouver and Nanaimo, then returned to Vancouver to practise civil litigation, before returning to criminal law on a full-time basis. One constant in all of these moves was that Joe left each position with a new set of friends. He is renowned for his capacity to build and maintain friendships.

The 1990s was also the decade during which Joe’s two children, Michael and Grace, were born. While they are the focus of his life, his work was often the focus of theirs. He acknowledges that many holidays and birthdays fell prey to his busy and varied schedule. One of Michael’s birthday dinners was held at the Hotel Vancouver because Joe was awaiting the return of a jury.

Three examples show the variety of Joe’s practice: (1) his appearance as Crown counsel against a serial arsonist in R. v. Grabowski resulting in a conviction on nine counts and a declaration of “long-term offender”; (2) his defence of Mr. Basi in R. v. Virk, Basi and Basi on charges of corruption involving aides to B.C. Cabinet ministers; and (3) his appearance as amicus curiae in R. v. Arfmann, a case involving a man convicted of the first-degree murder of Constable John Davidson, a member of the Abbottsford police force. Joe was regularly appointed as amicus, including on the R. v. Blackmore and Oler polygamy trial. His contributions in all of these roles garnered the praise of trial judges.

Over the years, Joe’s practice also swerved into criminal-adjacent practice areas. He practised administrative law involving the Police Complaint Commissioner and others. He also acted as commission counsel on various Police Act hearings and acted as counsel before the Braidwood Inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver International Airport. On several high-profile matters, he was appointed by the province as a special prosecutor. He also acted for witnesses in high-profile cases, including the Surrey Six trial.

Joe has also served the profession in a number of roles, including as president of the Vancouver Bar Association (2004) and in several roles with the CBABC, including on Provincial Council and the Advisory Committee to Judicial Council. He received his Q.C. (now K.C.) appointment in 2019 in recognition of his many contributions to the profession.

For the past 17 years, Joe partnered in practice with Chris Johnson, K.C. Together, they have fostered and mentored many younger criminal lawyers. Chris describes Joe as the greatest partner with whom he has worked, in large part because Joe was usually working out of town and was happy to rubber-stamp Chris’s management decisions.

In practice, Joe is known for his calm demeanour and reasonable, convivial approach. His friends, however, are well aware of his propensity to aim his ire at inanimate objects, including, in no particular order, out-ofbounds stakes, traffic, traffic bylaws and the “reasoning” of civic, provincial and federal politicians.

There was an unsubstantiated rumour that Joe used to have time management issues. Joe denies this allegation. When people suggested that he was late for lunch, he would explain that he wasn’t late—he just got caught up doing something and then it took him longer than expected to travel to his destination.

Joe is also not afraid to defend unpopular positions in discussions. If there are two sides available, he will usually back the underdog. He brings an iconoclast’s suspicious eye to generally accepted wisdom. He admits to a passing belief in a few political conspiracy theories, but won’t admit that they are conspiracy theories. No doubt, these propensities grew out of the lively debates around the dinner table in the Doyle household.

With the kids now through university, Joe lives with his wonderful wife Nicole within the urban landscape of downtown Vancouver. Nicole, a New York native, enjoys the West Coast’s laid-back approach to hustle and bustle. Joe loves the downtown life, especially the short and predictable commuting times.

Joe’s background, work experience, compassion and dedication make him perfectly suited to his new role on the bench.

The Honourable Justice John Gibb-Carsley

The Persian poet Rumi once asked, “And you? When will you begin that long journey into yourself?” In the case of John Gibb-Carsley, the journey began long ago, and the final destination is nowhere in sight.

John was raised in the small eastern Ontario town of Perth, which has been voted the prettiest town in Ontario every year … by the residents of Perth. He is proud of his roots and appreciates the small-town values with which he was raised. Both of his parents were schoolteachers, and he had what he considers an idyllic and carefree childhood, spending time with his parents, two sisters, grandparents and friends, enjoying the cottage life, sports, the outdoors and all that small-town living offers.

John greatly values the support and encouragement of his family. His parents, Natalie and John Sr., instilled in him a love of learning and curiosity about the world that continue to enrich his life. His mother was an artist and English teacher, and her love of language was matched only by her kindness, civility and grace. Among her greatest qualities was the ability to make all those around her feel comfortable and appreciated. His father is, to this day, a pillar of the Perth community, contributing his time and energy to service groups. Despite being 86 years old, John Sr. continues to lead an active life that includes biking, swimming and tending to his garden to provide fresh produce to the local food bank. John’s sisters, Althea and Victoria, are ardent supporters of community service and social justice, Althea serving her community as a social worker and Victoria giving back as a community advocate. John attributes his commitment to values such as fairness, justice and respect for others to observing how his family members live their lives.

Sports and competition were an important part of John’s childhood and youth. He swam competitively from a young age and was ranked nationally in the butterfly. John seemed poised to take the swimming world by storm. However, at age 11, John’s swimming ambitions began to sink. His competitors had begun to grow taller and his advantage as a towering ten-year-old no longer made up for his lack of speed.

After making a small splash in the swimming world, John was fortunate to receive a full scholarship to attend high school at Trinity College School (“TCS”), a boarding school in Port Hope, Ontario. It was at TCS that he developed lifelong friendships, furthered his love of academics and sports and developed a dream of travelling the world. John attended TCS for grades 9 and 10, but due to his mother’s cancer diagnosis, he returned to Perth for grade 11 to be closer to his family. John is grateful to the school for allowing him to keep his scholarship and return for grades 12 and 13, where he was head prefect and co-captained the varsity football and basketball teams.

John was accepted to Yale University, but decided to remain in Canada to attend Queen’s University’s commerce program. After graduating in 1994, he embarked on a three-year journey travelling the world. His wandering years yielded rich experiences. He assisted in teaching economics and physical education at a school in Australia, which included taking students on sailing and kayak trips on the Coorong lagoon. He hitchhiked from Alice Springs to Darwin and cycled the Great Ocean Road from Adelaide to Melbourne. Before returning to Canada, he travelled by boat from Hong Kong to Shanghai and backpacked through China for three months, visiting historic sites and climbing two of China’s five sacred mountains. Having attained a bit of enlightenment, he left the remaining three mountains for another time.

Back in Canada, John’s odyssey continued, taking a job in Iqaluit as a financial manager on an environmental project to remediate the radar site of the Cold War Distant Early Warning Line. He then transitioned to a much warmer climate, helping a friend set up a fledgling mountain bike touring company in Arizona, Utah and California. While the business model involved more personal biking “research” than paying customers, John’s experiences were lasting and formative. John finished off his three years of wandering by spending three months in New Zealand, where he was able not only to mountain bike but also to learn to skateboard very poorly. Skateboarding has become a lifelong passion for John, despite the embarrassing disparity between his present skill level and the time he has invested. Still, from time to time, John can be found at a local skate park, but only in the very early morning, before the cool kids arrive.

John returned to Queen’s for law school, where he was class president during his first and second year. Arguably, he became class president so he could organize fundraising events at local pubs, where he was able to play guitar and sing for a captive audience—a practice that would follow him throughout his legal career. In his third year, John was on the Queen’s mountain biking team, which by all accounts was not so much a team but a group of cyclists who went to mountain bike races on the weekend. John thoroughly enjoyed his time at law school and is grateful for the experience and the friends he made there, some of whom he remains friends with to this day. The most important of them is his wife Jennifer.

After law school, John worked at a national law firm in Toronto, which sparked his interest in litigation and provided him an opportunity to work briefly in Montreal. Even as a Bay Street lawyer, John’s wanderlust never disappeared, and he went on a self-guided bicycle trip with three friends, cycling from Islamabad, Pakistan to western China along the Karakorum Highway. This plucky group faced illness, mudslides and theft, but the experience remains among the fondest memories of John’s life.

Heeding the calls of the mountains and the ocean, John moved to Vancouver in 2003 and began working with the Department of Justice Canada in the tax litigation group. Moving to Vancouver was one of the best decisions John ever made. While John and his wife Jennifer were only acquaintances in law school, a chance encounter in Vancouver allowed them to deepen their friendship, which led to love, marriage, a profound bond and a marvellous daughter, Parker. John is keenly aware that none of his professional accomplishments would have been possible or meaningful without Jennifer.

As counsel with the Department of Justice, John (otherwise known as “JGC”) was nothing short of beloved. Whether carb loading handfuls of dry cereal in an office shared with others, or engaging in breakdance battles on the DOJ Christmas party dancefloor with a close friend (and now B.C. Supreme Court colleague),1 John always brought life and positive energy wherever he went. Somehow, just by being himself, John was almost successful in making tax law seem cool. Almost. John’s tax colleagues remain close to him, and John is grateful to have had the benefit of their skill as lawyers, their collegiality and their friendship.

In 2010, John joined the Department of Justice’s Criminal Law and International Assistance group (“CLIA”). Working in CLIA allowed John not only to hone his litigation skills and pursue his interest in international and criminal law, but also to develop deep and lasting friendships with his CLIA col- leagues, along with an ironclad reputation for bringing levity to any situation, including those for which levity was not appropriate. In addition to becoming an expert in extradition and mutual legal assistance law, handling some of the most high-profile cases across the country, John continued to search for and occasionally find the intersection between litigation and music. The sound of John’s harmonica would sometimes drift down the CLIA hallways late in the evening while he prepared for an important case, and his guitar would make an occasional appearance as accompaniment for an original JGC composition to honour a departing colleague. The lyrics to John’s songs were both touching and humorous and would sometimes include informative interludes explaining the law of international legal assistance. Surprisingly, despite his mellifluous tones, no record companies came calling.

In addition to his interest in the law and his fondness for his colleagues, one of John’s greatest joys while at the Department of Justice was mentoring junior lawyers. Walking past his office, one would often see John engrossed in conversation with junior counsel or dashing off to court with an articled student. It was obvious that John earned the respect and admiration of these young lawyers, as they would return to seek his advice, time and time again, on a wide variety of issues. John felt he learned more from the young lawyers than he ever taught them, and was buoyed by their enthusiasm and interest in the law.

In 2012, John returned to university and received a scholarship to obtain a master of laws degree at UBC. John obtained his LL.M. over three years while working full-time at the Department of Justice and produced a thesis in which he was able to further explore his interests in international criminal legal issues. It was an enriching experience that deepened his passion for both academia and law and allowed him to enjoy once again the thrill of being on a university campus.

In his life away from the law, John continues to explore his passion for the outdoors. He snowboards and skis, both alpine and cross-country, as much as possible. In a display of judgment one could only describe as dubious, John continues to mountain bike challenging trails that are meant for younger bodies more able to withstand violent falls on stones and roots. In recent years, John has discovered a love for a new sport through which he can endanger himself: paddleboarding. John’s enthusiasm for the paddleboard led him to discover that it is unnecessary to take a ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Gibsons. Apparently, all one needs is a board, fearless determination, an energy bar and some encouragement from friendly sea lions.

Despite his many interests, friends and pursuits, John remains firmly devoted to those who are closest to him. Jennifer, John and Parker enjoy skiing, mountain biking, paddleboarding and hiking the mountains of the West Coast. As of this writing, Parker is also still willing to be seen with her dad at the local skate park.

The long and winding road that has led John to the Supreme Court of British Columbia has given the jurists of that bench a colleague rich in life and legal experience. He is undoubtedly proving to be an insightful, assiduous and compassionate decision maker, one who allows litigants to be heard, and to feel they have been heard. He will demand much of lawyers appearing before him, while always setting an example for demonstrating respect, dignity and civility in the courtroom.

Where John goes from here is anyone’s guess. His path will undoubtedly be winding. It may even take him past Gibsons. But it is clear to those who know him that his journey is far from complete.

Endnote

1. Names have been withheld to protect the innocent.

The Honourable Judge Michele Peacock

As counsel, most of us feel well placed to identify the qualities of a good judge: fair and open-minded, not quick to judgment, kind, empathetic, smart, wise, astute and humble. If all those ingredients were popped into some kind of magical, judicial Instant Pot or sorcerer’s cauldron, we have no doubt that the resulting product would take the form of our friend and colleague Michele Peacock.

Michele embodies all the qualities we look for in a judge. While it is true that write-ups such as this are quick to offer up such adjectives and superlative pronouncements with respect to their subjects, for anyone who knows Michele, there can be no doubt as to the veracity of this claim or the fact that she has possessed these qualities to her core and long before the Judicial Council came to hear her name.

Michele was born and raised in Calgary and is the eldest of four children born to parents Pat and Judy. She has three younger siblings, her sister Sandy and her brothers Mike and Chris. Her committed and determined per- sonality was evident from an early age. Growing up, Michele took on every sport she could, including skiing, skating, gymnastics and even basketball, before settling on tennis, earning three Alberta junior tennis titles. Other successes include achieving upper levels in Royal Conservatory piano and later playing varsity field hockey and squash at McGill University.

She has long had a curiosity and passion for learning new things, qualities she shares with her mother, and which have influenced her path throughout her life. One of Michele’s longstanding interests is French. She attended a francophone kindergarten and was a student of the first bilingual class in Calgary in 1973. Michele studied French translation during her undergraduate studies at McGill, graduating with first class honours.

Her first taste of what would become her chosen profession also came early in her life, when she was a mere two months old and attended her father’s law school graduation in 1967. The seeds for a legal career were sown and, after her undergraduate studies, Michele decided to move west to Vancouver to attend the University of British Columbia to study law. She graduated in 1993 and was called to the bar in 1994, beginning her legal career articling with the firm then known as Stowe Ellis, and then as a sole practitioner with a focus in the areas of criminal and family practice. In 1995, she accepted a position as a staff lawyer with the Legal Services Society of B.C. Family Law Clinic and remained there until October 1996, when she joined the B.C. Prosecution Service as Crown counsel in the Vancouver region.

In her three-year Crown assessment, Michele was asked about her career objectives and had this to say:

My main goal is to continue to learn, to be challenged and to grow, both intellectually and professionally. One of the primary reasons I feel privileged to work for Crown Counsel is because of the wide variety of experience available. I hope to have the opportunity to participate in as many different functions as are offered by the organization.

Michele served the people of British Columbia as Crown counsel for nearly 26 years, and there can be no doubt that she met her career objectives as a prosecutor and then some. She worked the entirety of her Crown career in the Vancouver region and participated in all aspects or functions that the job offered. She was skilled in front-end Crown work, conducting charge assessments, bail hearings and arraignments and was likewise adept in conducting trials, both at the Provincial Court level and at the Supreme Court, doing judge-alone and jury trials. She represented the Crown on difficult, emotionally charged cases and, in doing so, handled herself with calm, professionalism and respect for everyone involved. She was recognized by justice partners and members of the public as having a flexible and committed approach and for exhibiting a compassionate and trusting manner. These personal qualities helped empower and support witnesses to participate in the judicial process, in circumstances where their participation had been far from a certainty. The successful prosecution of many of Michele’s cases was owed to her very hard work, coupled with her patient, sensitive, ethical and determined approach.

Given her strong command of the French language, Michele was also a longtime member of the French Prosecution Team and was frequently called on to conduct bilingual prosecutions and last-minute translations for her Crown colleagues. She was also a valued member of the team charged with prosecuting offences arising out of the 2011 Stanley Cup Riot. The work of the team collectively earned them a BCPS Recognition Award in 2015 and national recognition in the same year in the form of the PFT Heads of Prosecution Commitment to Justice Award.

Michele has always supported the legal community. She gave generously of her time over the years in many venues, including as a supervising lawyer with the UBC Law Students’ Legal Advice Program and the UBC Criminal Law Clinic as well as being a Legal Committee member at West Coast LEAF. She was an instructor with the UBC team for the Peter Burns Moot Competition, an instructor for the RCMP Legal Training Sessions and a guest instructor at the Judicial Justice of the Peace Training Course. She was also a guest instructor for law students at PLTC and at the Law Courts Education Society.

Michele exhibited valuable leadership qualities throughout her Crown counsel tenure. She is described by her Crown colleagues as a remarkable leader—respectful, empathetic and impactful. She was also greatly appreciated as Administrative Crown Counsel for the Richmond Crown Counsel Office over a five-year period, a timeframe that importantly included the COVID-19 pandemic. Never one to shy away from a challenge, she agreed to assume the role of acting Administrative Crown Counsel for the BCPS Bilingual Prosecution Team for a period of time, while also working as Administrative Crown Counsel in Richmond. This was, of course, a busy and difficult time, and her steady hand in leading the Richmond office through the many resulting process changes, including a complete shift from paper to electronic files and remote court appearances, was exemplary.

On an interpersonal level, Michele’s positive and empowering nature and willingness to be personally available to offer advice, mentor and generally empower and lift up her colleagues were unfailing. She consistently went above and beyond, with optimism and a constructive approach, finding the positive in any situation or task. Her tenure in Richmond earned her the affectionate title of “fearless leader”—a moniker that has stuck with her.

There is no greater source of pride and strength for Michele than her family. As fate would have it, Michele met Gae in 1993, the day after writing her bar exam. Since that very first encounter, they have shared over 30 years of love and adventure and are blessed with an amazing extended family and two beautiful, talented daughters, Shae and Ava. While there is no doubt that her partner and soulmate Gae and their two daughters are proud of Michele, she would be quick to point out that they are no more proud of her than she is of them.

Outside of work, Michele has a broad range of interests. She enjoys athletic pursuits, which include being an accomplished golfer. She has a wonderful sense of adventure and enjoys travel. Her research and planning skills have carved enviable travel itineraries for her and her family around the world, including Malaysia, Borneo, the Maritimes, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Costa Rica, Morocco and a seven-month sabbatical through Europe.

Michele has been described as having a moral compass that is in perfect harmony with pragmatism and empathy, making her the first person you go to for advice. This holds true not only in her personal relationships, but also in her professional ones. Michele is truly interested in those she encounters and is one of those people who makes you feel totally at ease when you are with her. She is an extremely committed friend who regularly goes out of her way to be there to offer meaningful support in times of need. Given her generous nature, it is not surprising that she is also an engaged and attentive listener. She has a genuine interest in the human condition, the struggles that unite us and the challenges that, although often cloaked or packaged differently, are at their core universal and shared. These are attributes that will undoubtedly serve her well as a judge.

Michele was sworn in as a judge of the Provincial Court of British Columbia on March 7, 2022 and assigned to the Fraser Region, with chambers in New Westminster. At the time of writing, she is coming up on her one-year anniversary in her new career. In this time, it has become evident that she possesses the perfect judicial temperament and is an excellent fit in her new role.

At Michele’s welcoming ceremony, Chief Judge Gillespie noted that a judge becomes involved in matters that impact, in a very real way, the lives of the people who appear in front of them every day seeking justice. It is undoubtedly a privilege and equally a solemn responsibility to serve the public in this way. For those who know Michele well, there is no question that this is a role to which she is eminently suited. Her innate and ingrained sense of participating in the lives of those around her in a meaningful and value-added way ensures the public will be very well served by Her Honour.