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Local Crown counsel appointed Provincial Court Judge
The Government of British Columbia announced April 5 it has appointed two new Provincial Court judges including a former Cranbrook-based Crown counsel.
The new judges appointed to the Provincial Court are:
* Mandy Klein (effective April 29, 2024); and
* Sabena Thompson (effective April 15).
Klein has practised law for more than 16 years. She began her career in Manitoba, working as an articling student for Legal Aid in the areas of family, criminal, child protection and poverty law. After being called to the bar in 2007, she worked as a criminal defence counsel with a focus on child protection matters and as Crown counsel for the Manitoba Prosecution Service.
In 2017, Klein joined the B.C. Prosecution Service as a Crown counsel in Cranbrook, becoming the administrative Crown counsel in 2019. In this role, Klein worked with Indigenous leadership to develop effective and appropriate ways to bring the community’s voice to the court process in the East Kootenay.
Thompson has practised law for more than 20 years. She began her career working for a private law firm in 100 Mile House, practicing civil litigation, criminal defence and family law. In 2005, Thompson joined the B.C. Prosecution Service as Crown counsel in Williams Lake, exclusively handling criminal law. At various times, she has held leadership positions with the B.C. Prosecution Service, including as the administrative Crown for Williams Lake, Indigenous court Crown counsel, and most recently, as a deputy regional Crown counsel in the northern region of B.C. Thompson has worked closely with many Indigenous communities in the province, assisting in the development of Indigenous sentencing courts.
The process to appoint judges involves the following steps:
* Interested lawyers apply and the Judicial Council of B.C. reviews the candidates.
* The council is a statutory body made up of the chief judge, an associate chief judge, other judges, lawyers and members from outside the legal profession.
* The council recommends potential judges to the Attorney General, with the final appointment made through a cabinet order-in-council.
* Although judges and judicial justices are located in a judicial region, many leverage technology such as video-conferencing for court proceedings, and travel regularly throughout the province to meet changing demands.
e-KNOW file photo
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