The Hon. James Felstiner

This interview explores the remarkable career trajectory of Judge James Felstiner, beginning with his family background in New York where his father was a corporate lawyer. Felstiner’s path to the Canadian judiciary was unconventional, starting with his education at Phillips Exeter Academy and Haverford College, followed by Harvard Law School where he struggled academically but developed his passion for juvenile justice through a seminar on juvenile delinquency.

Felstiner’s formative experience as a volunteer at the Massachusetts Industrial School for Boys crystallized his desire to become a juvenile court judge. After law school, he worked as a law clerk at the Juvenile Court of Washington, DC, then came to Toronto in 1959 to pursue an M.S.W. at the University of Toronto School of Social Work. There he discovered his specialty through work at the University Settlement Recreation Centre and became Canada’s first professional street worker in 1961, working with alienated youth in downtown Toronto for four years while gaining significant media attention.

Felstiner’s appointment to the Provincial Court of Ontario in 1970 followed his service as Registrar and Clerk of the Juvenile Court of Metropolitan Toronto from 1967-1970, where he managed the entire Jarvis Street court complex including its detention facility. His judicial career was characterized by his hands-on approach, extensive community involvement, and commitment to understanding the institutions where he sent children. The interview reveals his philosophy of treating children as individuals requiring help rather than punishment, and his concerns about the criminalization of youth justice following the Young Offenders Act of 1984.

This description was written by AI and may contain some inaccuracies.