Verdicts & Voices

“I thought she was nuts when she said I’d be a judge.”

Episode Summary

Harvey Brownstone, Canada’s first openly gay judge, recounts his cinematic life.

Episode Notes

In 1976, when Harvey Brownstone told his mother he was gay, she became “volcanic” and kicked him out of the house. He spent five years on welfare, without stealing – much. Somehow, though, he got a law degree from Queens, clerked for a young Rosalie Abella, and became Canada’s first openly gay judge in 1995. Now, in retirement, his celebrity interview show has 70 000 YouTube subscribers, and the memoir he just released is being made into a movie starring David Arquette.

As Pride season begins, Harvey joins the pod to discuss his cinematic life, the clubby Canadian legal world of the late 20th century, and the role of the judge as public educator.

Notes:

• Without Prejudice: My Life as a Gay Judge by Harvey Brownstowne
• Harvey Brownstown Interviews…
• Find out about CBA Pride initiatives and the CBA’s Sexual and Gender Diversity Alliance Section (SAGDA)

Verdicts & Voices is a legal current affairs podcast presented by the Canadian Bar Association. With her retinue of expert guests, host Alison Crawford keeps listeners up to date on news, views, and stories about the law and the justice system in Canada.

Views expressed are not necessarily those of the CBA.