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TO P CO U R T TAL E S BY PHILIP SLAYTON partly because they are chosen in an executive branch backroom, with little opportunity for the press and public, or even parliamentarians, to find out much about them. What do you really know about Thomas Cromwell, who was sworn in just recently? Once picked, a judge re- treats into the shadows of high ju- dicial office, often only heard from in learned judgments. With this in mind, in these pages The surprising Justice Deschamps I The Quebec judge has acquired a reputation as a fearless and original thinker. 've pointed out before in this col- umn that little is known about Supreme Court justices. That's Then came the routine plaudits from all and sundry. Deschamps was described in newspapers as a tireless worker who quickly masters intricate and complex cases; someone with a collegial style; a solid workhorse; tough, inquisitive, and fair; strong-minded; someone with great integrity and resolve; not a scaredy cat; possessing intelligence, will, and stamina; not worried about being popular; a thoughtful and solid generalist. Marie Deschamps was 49 when I occasionally give some biographi- cal information about a Supreme Court judge, culled mostly from newspaper stories, the Internet, and perhaps what I can pick up from lunch with a gossipy lawyer or two. In June 2008, I wrote about Justice Louise Charron on the Canadian Lawyer web site (see www.cana- dianlawyermag.com/A-needle-in-a- haystack.html). Next on my bio- graphical list (for no particular reason) is Justice Marie Deschamps, one of the three Supreme Court judges from Quebec (the others, in case you're feel- ing a bit vague, are justices Louis LeBel and Morris Fish). On Aug. 8, 2002, Deschamps, then a Justice Marie Deschamps is one of three Quebec judges at the SCC. and the place where those debates take place is the Supreme Court." Another interviewer described Deschamps as "joyful" at her appointment. There were the usual immediate judge of the Quebec Court of Appeal, had just finished a 10-kilometre morn- ing run, when then-prime minister Jean Chrétien rang up. He offered her the Supreme Court seat recently vacated by Claire L'Heureux-Dubé. She accepted immediately. Montreal's The Gazette quoted her as saying, "Every jurist wants to be involved in the most important cases and the largest societal debates, public reactions to a Supreme Court appointment. First, who on earth is this person? "This is right out of the blue," one court expert was reported as saying. "I don't know enough about [Deschamps] or her decisions," he added. Norman Spector, erstwhile chief of staff to prime minister Brian Mulroney, wrote, "Her name had been on no one's list. . . ." Deschamps herself was reported as saying that she couldn't "name a specific judgment [of hers] that would be known to the public. . . ." 26 M ARCH 2009 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com she was appointed to the Supreme Court. She had been on the Quebec Court of Appeal for 10 years. Before that, Deschamps had been a trial judge for two years, and prior to that practised commercial and corporate law with well-known Montreal firm Byers Casgrain. Her long-time life partner is Paul Gobeil, an influential Liberal, provincial cabinet minister in the 1980s, and prominent Quebec businessman. At the time of her appointment, Deschamps expected gossip about Gobeil's Liberal connections. She was reported as saying, "Anyone can comment in any way they want and I cannot prevent anyone from thinking what they want, but the fact is I don't think he had anything to do with this." The Globe and Mail editorialized: ". . . her appointment raises the question of whether Liberal party connections are helpful for prospective jurists . . . because she is the third of Mr. Chrétien's five appointments to the country's top court with Liberal party connections . . . one becomes a little curious." © SCC PHILIPPE LANDREVILLE