The Cost of Justice: A Desk Manual on Vicarious Trauma

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By The Hon. Paul H. Reinhardt, Ontario Court of Justice, Ontario representative, Judges Counselling Program 

As Canadians we put a great deal of faith in our legal system. We are taught in school that, if all else fails, we can go to court to redress wrongs and to find impartial and even-handed dispute resolution. We are taught that if we have a problem, lawyers and judges in a courtroom setting can help us solve those problems. To achieve this we have developed a system with built in checks and balances. All lawyers must go to law school and pass rigorous apprenticeships and admission exams. Practicing lawyers are subject to Law Society discipline if they breach ethical and professional rules of conduct. Judges must first practice law in Ontario for ten years and be recommended by an independent committee of citizens, judges and lawyers before their appointment. Once appointed they are subject to appeal of their decisions on legal error to the higher courts and to complaints to the Judicial Council if they breach conduct standards.

As a lawyer and judge in Ontario for almost thirty years, I am very proud to say that from my experience these “checks and balances” do work, and the faith that we Canadians place in our legal system is well founded. However, it is the premise of the editors and authors of these materials that as professionals working in the legal system we need to look carefully not just at the fairness of the system and the competency of the professionals, but also at the very high emotional and personal price that we, as participants can pay for our participation. To protect the public we must better understand how to navigate the often-difficult emotional pressures and stress both inside and outside the courtroom.

The “problems” we ask courts and legal professionals to deal with are characterized as legal issues with legal conclusions. In a lawyer's office this amounts to drafting documents and giving legal advice. In the court context this means reaching conclusions regarding such things as guilt, fault, liability, penalties and damages. However, in coming to legal conclusions in the field of criminal law and child protection in the courtroom, judges regularly must receive testimony involving physical assault and emotional abuse, even death. It is very traumatic for a citizen to be brought to court and prosecuted. The trauma experienced by witnesses and victims is often so severe that they break down in court in recounting their own experience. In civil matters, the legal issues are generally less toxic, but there can be elements of addiction, mental illness and trauma wrapped around those issues that form a significant part of the evidence received.

As a young lawyer in private practice, I tried to apply myself to these traumatic fact situations with compassion and respect for the suffering of others. The dictionary meaning of the word “empathy” is to “feel with” and I guess I tried as best I could to “feel with” the client or witness in the process of doing my legal work. The same dynamic applies to the role of the judge in the courtroom: you try to be fair and considerate to a person charged and compassionate and empathetic towards the person who has suffered harm.

The articles in this manual suggest that lawyers and judges need to learn to do more than just be competent, compassionate and empathetic. Whether in their office or in the courtroom, lawyers and judges must also learn how to understand and manage their own emotional challenges working in an often-caustic and stressful legal environment. As you will learn from reading these materials, understanding the cause and effects of “vicarious trauma” and learning how to protect yourself and your colleagues from falling victim yourself to the pain and suffering connected to this affliction is a challenge we must address both for ourselves as professionals and for the ultimate protection of the public.

As a judge working in the area of judicial counselling, I congratulate the lawyers and psychologists who have donated their time to make this manual a reality. They have given of their time and energy, their knowledge and expertise, and of themselves. I wish to acknowledge their dedication and commitment to our profession and to the public. We owe them a debt of gratitude.