ENCORE: Retired judge Marie Corbett reflects on feeling 'powerless over crime'
Ontario Superior Court Judge Marie Corbett was 55 years old when she stepped down from being a judge.
Corbett retired early after a death of a close friend. She reflects on her decision to leave her distinguished post in her memoir, January: A Woman Judge's Season of Disillusion.
Corbett spoke with The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti in April about how powerless she felt sitting on the bench.
"I was a member of the Status of Women Council in Ontario and I cared about the problems that women had specifically. And when I became a judge, I didn't stop caring but I was powerless to do anything about it."
Corbett tells Tremonti the feeling of powerlessness was two-pronged and involved her personal life as well as her work as a judge.
"I was overwhelmed by powerlessness, first in the case of Anne because she was powerless over her cancer …. and I was powerless over crime." She says she "looked at crime and cancer as flip sides of the coin — one was a physical pathology and one was a social pathology."
Video: Marie Corbett accepts YWCA's Women of Distinction award
Corbett says the death of her friend Anne was a life-changing moment.
"I think when a friend that you love dies at an early age, it does cause you to reevaluate how you want live.… Law at that time was consuming me and I cared about other aspects of myself … and decided to change my life."
It does stay with you. The trauma, the sorrow, the tragedy experienced by people is shocking.- Marie Corbett, former judge
For all the power judges wield in the justice system, we don't often hear from them, in part because they seldom step down from their prestigious posts. But, Corbett adds, it's also about judges wanting to avoid becoming personalities.
"Judges are schooled in being circumspect and in being discreet. They tend to speak through their cases.… It's a discipline of being a judge."
Corbett says there is an emotional toll serving as a judge and she carries the "shocking" trauma, sorrow and tragedy of the many cases in her career.
"I've had cases where a married couple broke the major bones of their newborn baby — every major bone," she tells Tremonti.
"These people don't go away. Their tragedy doesn't go away ... they live rent-free in your brain."
Listen to the full conversation at the top of this web post.
This segment was produced by The Current's Liz Hoath.