Born in Hawk Junction and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Douglas is returning to his hometown April 6 to sign copies of his new book 'You Be the Judge'
Norman Douglas, a well-known longtime Sault resident who served as a Crown Attorney in this community and later as a judge with the Ontario Court of Justice in southern Ontario, has authored a book titled You Be the Judge.
The book’s approach stems from the days in which Douglas served as a judge presiding in Brampton, Guelph and the London area from 1994 to 2021. Those questions and challenges include whether a homicide is planned and deliberate if the accused person’s sanity was in question when the crime was committed, finding and including eyewitness testimony to a crime and the admissibility of certain types of evidence.One such case included in the book is the Oct. 14, 1987, stabbing death of 14-year-old Patrizia Mastroianni inside a Korah Collegiate bathroom.“It was one of the most heart-wrenching cases I’ve ever done,” Douglas said.
As Assistant Crown Attorney at the time, Douglas' work led to the conviction of Allan Sweeney, then 19, of murder. Despite that belief in law and order and decades of work in bringing convicted criminals to justice, Douglas offered a self-deprecating answer when asked why he made law his career choice.
“I can officially say I was a goaltender for the Greyhounds but it wasn’t like I was the first-string goalie for them. But I enjoyed it. I got to travel a little bit.” He played as a goaltender for six years for the Queen's Gaels hockey team. “I loved law school,” he said.Douglas was appointed Assistant Crown Attorney in the Sault in 1973 and later as Crown Attorney in 1980.
“The Boomerangs did three sets. For one whole set, I would get into an Elvis jumpsuit and an Elvis wig and do 12 or 13 Elvis songs. It was fun. I loved every second of it,” Douglas said. The last such festival took place in 2019.“We need to take our jobs seriously but we don’t need to take ourselves too seriously. Some judges thought it was wrong and unseemly for me to be in a band, doing Elvis, doing stuff that was non-judicial but most of the judges said ‘good for you.
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Retired Judge Norman Douglas to Hold Book Signing at Sault Ste. Marie Public LibraryRetired judge Norman Douglas, author of the new book "You Be The Judge," will be holding a book signing event at the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library. The book explores real cases and asks readers to weigh in. Limited copies will be available at the event.
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