Aggressive in Pursuit: The Life of Justice Emmett Hall
2004
Published for the Osgoode Society by the University of Toronto Press
Cost: $44.50
Read review(s)
Return to 2004-2008 book list
Description
In 1963 Prime Minister John Diefenbaker elevated Chief Justice Hall of Saskatchewan to the Supreme
Court of Canada.
This judicial biography focuses on Hall's career as defence lawyer, and civil litigator, his
position as a civil
libertarian judge and advocate of the rights of minority groups, and his work on a series of Royal
Commissions,
most significantly the Royal Commission on Health Services.
Always an individualist and possessed of a probing and disciplined mind, Hall made his own unique
contribution
to the judicial history of Saskatchewan and Canada.
Reviews
This latest addition to a catalogue of books of the Osgoode Society is a treat, not a rare one in
light of the on-going excellence of the collection, but a delightful addition to one's library in general,
and will prove of great benefit to any advocate or jurist. After all, who might not profit from gaining an
understanding of the most effective way of framing an argument to convince a nation of the benefits of
universal medicare. Gilles Renaud, The Advocate, vol 64, 2006
In the 1960s, when few Canadians other than those in the legal profession paid attention to judges on the Supreme Court, Justice Emmett Hall became a household name.... Canadians probably best knew Hall as the chair of the Health Services Commission that recommended the establishment of a national universal health care scheme.... Vaughan has written a compelling and scholarly study of one of the most important Canadian jurists of the twentieth century. Eric Adams, Social History-Histoire Sociale, vol 39, 2006
The strength of Vaughan's approach is that it gives the reader a clear description and assessment of Hall's contribution, especially as a jurist.... Vaughan provides the reader with fascinating details about the interplay of personalities among jurists on the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. Jim Miller, Queen's Law Journal, vol 31, 2005
