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| Norman Douglas |
I did not prepare for retirement.
I know, I know, I attended two retirement seminars, was asked repeatedly by family and friends what my plans were for retirement and I blithely went about my daily routine living in the moment, believing it couldn’t happen to me.
Then my 75th birthday snuck up on me like a Gurkha soldier and his khukuri slashed off my robe, sash, tabs, starched shirt and striped trousers and left me standing in the courthouse parking lot. In the public parking area!
Suddenly no one was bowing to me.
No one stood as I entered a room.
No one was getting my coffee.
My jokes weren’t as funny.
And it hit me — I wasn't “Your Honour.”
I was an unemployed (gulp) pensioner (whew).
An impotent bull (though still, in my mind, a raging one) put out to pasture.
Book talk and signing, The Book Shelf, Guelph, July 6.
Pickleball court: check;
Euchre night at the Legion: check;
Volunteer night at the church: check;
Table at Tim Horton’s reserved for four bulls at eight every morning: check;
All good, but what do I do with these 21 years of legal practice and 27 years of judicial experience?
I feel like a library that’s being torn down (you have to be 75 to remember when libraries were actual buildings) and all the books (ditto) destroyed ...
Well, it hit me as I was grazing in a corner of the field one morning. Maybe I could salvage something from the wrecking ball. What if I wrote an actual book summarizing all I have learned? I could use a computer! I’ve heard there is something called a hard drive that saves things forever. And maybe I could make it interesting enough that someone might even publish it.
I began a new journey in my life that took me four months to write, and 18 months to get published (that is a long, boring story in itself).
My book — an interactive exercise that puts the reader in the jury box for the homicide cases I prosecuted, and on the bench for some of the more fascinating cases I decided as a judge — was launched in December 2023.
Here is a brief look at what happened next and what is still happening as I write my ninth column for Law360 Canada.
As word spread that there was a new book out by a criminal court judge called You Be The Judge — the media requests appeared in my inbox (I am now a computer guy).
My very first one was on a Collingwood radio station where the host, John Eaton, remembered me competing at the Collingwood Elvis Festival back in the early 2000s. Then there came interviews on CBC affiliates in Toronto, London and Kitchener, articles and a podcast interview with Village Media.
This exposure led to invitations to various clubs and organizations looking for speakers. Also, there continue to be opportunities for book talks and signings — three in Northern Ontario, one in Toronto, two in Collingwood and two in Guelph — one last Saturday and another this Saturday as I write this.
Having attracted the attention of Peter Carter from LexisNexis, I am now writing columns for Law360 Canada.
The most recent piece I wrote was likely more rewarding for me than it was for any of you who read it. Peter convinced me to make the column a three-part series.
The series enabled me to pass on some of the lessons I learned over my long and adventurous career in criminal law.
And that, of course, is what this piece is all about. What do any of us do with all the knowledge and practical experience we have gained?
We want to share it with those coming behind us. We want to warn them about the pitfalls, quicksand and poison ivy along the path. Show them the shortcuts, rest stops and quiet sunlit uplands.
We older judges, therefore want to mentor the newer appointments.
The job of a judge has its share of stressors.
One of them is making dozens of decisions a day on the fly that impact people’s lives.
The pressure of the long list of cases today, the backlog of others from yesterdays and the looming incoming of tomorrows do not allow for too many “hmmm ... let me adjourn for some sober reflection” moments. The lawyers need answers. The accused has been sitting in jail. The victim has already agonized for months. And the beat goes on. The cases come and go, along with the human lives you witness for a day or two.
Thus, before we know it, the years fly by, and we are at the finish line.
As I have reflected in previous columns, we judges who are still working at 75 cannot sit one day after that birthday.
So that is where the title of this musing was born.
Now some of my colleagues who were prepared for retirement are absolutely loving the “pasture.” The happiest are those who have found ways to continue to contribute to their communities.
Usually, they were intelligent enough to lay the groundwork before they retired. And they have the time now, as well, to do other things they enjoy. I envy them.
And so, being determined to make up for lost time, I wrote a book. I doubt it will make much money, but I am beginning to see the other riches it has already begun to bring.
It has opened other doors — portals that allow me to share what I have learned. It has salvaged the “books” in my library building. Books that, as I go about speaking, writing and maybe even teaching, will be of some value to other folks.
So take heart all you (r)aging bulls out there.
There’s more to do in the pasture than reminisce.
Even if it happens at the euchre table or the pickleball court — never forget you have something priceless to offer those new companions when you get the chance to share some of the wisdom you have gained from all your working years. You are a living library.
Norman Douglas is a retired criminal court judge with 27.5 years of experience on the bench. His book, You Be the Judge, was published in December.
The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s firm, its clients, Law360 Canada, LexisNexis Canada or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.
Interested in writing for us? To learn more about how you can add your voice to Law360 Canada, contact Analysis Editor Peter Carter at peter.carter@lexisnexis.ca or call 647-776-6740.