The Crest Affair: Judicial Independence and Yukon’s Supreme Court

Abstract

The Yukon’s 1986 “Crest Affair” has entered into local legal lore as a contest about judicial independence. It was that and more. In addition to galvanizing the general public to take note of the Yukon courts as an independent institution, the resulting proceedings before the Law Society of Yukon resolved a live question about the professional obligations of the Yukon Minister of Justice as a member of the bar. As well, the Crest Affair is simply a good story, given that it took place at a time of conflict between the Yukon’s Minister of Justice, the Senior Judge of the Yukon Supreme Court, and the president of the Law Society. In the context of a small jurisdiction with outspoken personalities and robust local media, the Crest Affair led to lively public debate and generated a significant amount of news coverage, some of which is recounted here. ... ... More