Dispensing the law in a new land.

Appointed by the Canadian government in the 1870s, the first judicial officials in the North-West Territories were stipendiary magistrates. Working as individuals exercising judicial authority, these magistrates became judges of the Supreme Court of the North-West Territories in 1887, and the position of magistrate disappeared. In 1897, the North-West Territories revived the position, now equivalent to a justice of the peace as a primary point of entry in the legal system. New laws after 1906 gradually gave magistrates more authority over trials, and magistrates became the judges of the newly-created Provincial Court of Alberta in 1971.

Dispensing the law in a new land.

From the Archives

“Mrs. Murphy is Appointed Police Magistrate for City,” Edmonton Bulletin, June 14, 1916.

Emily Murphy to A.G. Browning, June 24, 1916.

“Over the Tea Cups,” Edmonton Bulletin, July 20, 1916.

“Magistrate Mrs. Murphy’s First Case,” Edmonton Bulletin, July 31, 1916.

Emily Murphy to A.G. Browning, September 21, 1916.

Returns of Magistrate Emily Murphy from the Edmonton Women’s Police Court, 1916.

“Woman Police Magistrate for Calgary,” Edmonton Bulletin, December 29, 1916.

“The Social Side of City Life,” Edmonton Bulletin, October 17, 1917.

“Not Allowed to Speak in Women’s Court,” Edmonton Bulletin, December 19, 1917.

Delegation, including Emily Murphy, inspecting police force, 1921-1923.

“Resigns Judicial Post,” Stony Plain Sun, November 12, 1931.

“Woman Magistrate Retires,” Wetaskiwin Times, January 21, 1932.