the Portico
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By Teresa Pitman
When Madam Justice Sharon Nicklas dons her robes to preside over the Mental Health Court in Kitchener for the first time this coming October, she will have pulled together some threads that originated in her student days at the U of G.
The Mental Health Court was actually created, at least in part, by Nicklas, who graduated in psychology here before going to law school.
Psychology hadn’t been her first plan. Nicklas enrolled in Biological Sciences at the U of G in 1984 but soon switched to the psychology co-op program. The University, she says, was an excellent fit for her. “Guelph has very down-to-earth people, and I had very positive experiences there,” she says.
Many of those were in class, but for this sports enthusiast “really my best experience at Guelph was playing on the varsity hockey team,” she says. “I made great friends and still play hockey with M.J. Woodyatt, Pat Fogarty and Karen Rooney today.” She also worked two co-op terms in the athletic centre.
Her passion for hockey never got in the way of her academic goals, though. “These team mates with whom I still play teased me because we’d go out and after a while I’d say ‘gotta go’ because I needed to study,” Nicklas recalled. She knew she wanted to go to continue her education, and had planned on graduate school, but it was those same team mates who convinced her to consider law as a career. “They thought I was outgoing and said I always had an opinion,” she says. “I don’t think that’s actually very flattering, but they did succeed in getting me to give it a try.”
Some of her professors, she adds, were surprised to find out she’d decided to apply to law school. “They expected me to go to graduate school, but not into law,” she recalls.
That didn’t discourage her. Nicklas enrolled in the University of Toronto law school and not only studied law during the day but discovered the reality of the courtroom during summers and breaks. After her first year, she worked in the prosecutor’s office in Kitchener. She also prosecuted cases in Night Court in downtown Toronto while still a student.
“That was a real eye-opener,” she says. “I saw firsthand how busy the courts were, and the variety of people and cases that came through.”
After articling with the Hamilton Crown Attorney, Nicklas was called to the bar in 1994. Apparently she saw something she liked during that first summer as a student working in the prosecutor’s office in Kitchener, because she became an Assistant Crown Attorney for 9 years and then the Deputy Crown Attorney in Waterloo Region in 2003.
The value of her undergraduate studies in psychology soon became apparent. “There were so many cases involving people with mental health issues,” Nicklas says. “I started tracking them, and worked with a defence lawyer who defended many of these cases to determine whether these people might be better served in a different court.”
When they’d gathered the evidence to demonstrate the need, Nicklas and defence lawyer Steve Gehl approached Justice Gary Hearn to start a special Mental Health Court in Waterloo Region in 2005. The court runs one day a week, presided over by one of four local judges, and was one of five similar programs in Ontario when the initiative began. Since then, other jurisdictions have created such a Court.
“People are still held accountable,” Nicklas explains, “but we look at cases from the perspective of ‘does this person need help, and can we connect them to the help that they need?’”
The objectives of the Mental Health Court include “To hold the accused accountable for their actions while providing effective treatment in the least restrictive fashion; to protect the rights of the public as well as the accused while at the same time maintaining the integrity of the criminal justice system.”
“If someone is found not criminally responsible by reason of mental disorder, of any crime, including homicide, the Ontario Review Board takes over,” Nicklas adds. “They determine whether the person can be safely re-integrated into the community. I believe that there are cases where they do not release persons back into the community if the risk remains too high.”
To make the Mental Health Court program work, Nicklas built connections and attended many meetings with staff from local hospitals and community mental health and support programs. There, she reconnected with another former U of G hockey team mate, Helen Fishburn, who works in this field. “We were looking for community-based solutions,” she says. A support co-ordinator helps to link those accused of crimes with the services they need: psychiatric assessments, housing, counseling, access to medication or in-hospital treatment.
“It’s not a “get-out-of-jail-free card,” she emphasizes, but by linking people with the supports that they need, the risk of re-offending can be significantly reduced. The court benefits not only the mentally ill who appear before it, but the entire community.
The Ministry of the Attorney General thinks it’s valuable, too. Nicklas was awarded the Excelsior Award by the Attorney General in recognition of her work in this area. She is, however, modest about her role: “I’ve received a lot of accolades for this, but really it was the work of a lot of people. I was just the one who approached the judge who said yes.”
As Nicklas was promoted to deputy Crown Attorney and then Acting Crown Attorney, her work became focused on management, but she missed the courtroom setting. Applying to become a judge seemed like the next logical step in her career.
Her application was promptly accepted, and she became a Provincial Court judge in the Kitchener-Guelph Region in 2007. Nicklas at that point had been practicing as a lawyer for 13 years; the minimum to apply to be a judge is ten. That makes Nicklas one of the younger judges presiding over Ontario courtrooms.
While her previous experience had been in criminal law, as a judge Nicklas handles both criminal and family law cases, so she faced a fairly steep learning curve in preparing to adjudicate family law situations.
The move from prosecutor to taking on the responsibility of passing judgment has gone smoothly, she says. “Initially it appeared to be a very daunting task, but once I review the facts and the law on the issues in a case, the decision usually becomes apparent. You find a pathway through the case and an understanding that makes sense to you.”
She does spend a considerable amount of time reflecting on the cases and researching the current law – more than she had anticipated. There’s no “easing in” to the new responsibilities as a judge. “When you become a judge, they can’t really just start you out on easy cases and later have you move to the harder ones. You get the cases that come in, and I have had some really challenging ones,” Nicklas adds. “Fortunately, I had a broad criminal law background and that has helped.” She has received great support from her colleagues, including another U of G graduate, Justice David Carr.
Despite her long hours, Nicklas hasn’t forgotten her love of hockey, and now coaches her daughter’s team and throws in a little soccer coaching for her son as well. “I had the best coaching I’ve ever had when I played at Guelph,” she says, “and that causes you to realize how important coaching is. I try to be a mentor to the girls on my daughter’s team.”
She works hard at balancing her work life with her family life. Her husband, former U of G football player, Al Anonech, was her biggest cheerleader in her pursuit to the bench, and he has been a terrific help in helping her achieve this balance.
Nicklas appreciates that her role as a judge allows her to give back to the community in a unique way. Whether it’s a day in Mental Health court or overseeing the criminal and family law trials on her schedule, Nicklas sees this as a true community service job. “You are trying to help people through the worst crises of their lives,” she says. “You are seeing people at their lowest points, and hearing their stories, and you are able to have an impact on their situations, and help them ultimately find their way to a better place.”
