Scales of Justice was a Canadian series of docudrama television films, which aired on CBC Television between 1991 and 1995.[1] Based on an earlier CBC Radio series of the same name, the films dramatized notable Canadian court cases, with actors reenacting the real-life events of the trial.[2]
The series was produced by George Jonas, with lawyer Edward Greenspan involved in the production as narrator and legal consultant, while episodes were co-written by Jonas with a variety of collaborators and directed by a variety of Canadian filmmakers.[3]
Episodes of the series were either one hour or two hours, depending on the complexity of the case being depicted.
The series was cancelled in 1995.[4]
Robert Stewart, whose trial had been depicted in a 1991 episode, sued Greenspan and the CBC in 1996 for purportedly violating his obligations of loyalty and confidentiality, as Greenspan had been directly involved in Stewart's appeal of his original conviction.[5] During the case, Stewart claimed that the episode had damaged his reputation in the community where he now lived, as he felt that the episode depicted him as a callous murderer rather than a man who was simply caught up in an accident,[6] while the producers testified that the episode had been Jonas's idea and Greenspan had actually opposed it on the grounds that it would create an appearance of conflict of interest for him, and that he had actually intervened to make the original script more fair to Stewart's perspective once it became clear that Jonas was still going to proceed.[7]
Justice John Macdonald dismissed the suit against the CBC in April 1996 on the grounds that Stewart had failed to show culpability on the network's part.[8] He later found Greenspan liable for breach of trust, but ordered Greenspan to pay just $5,750 in restitution rather than the $77,000 demanded by Stewart in his original suit;[9] however, after Stewart demanded additional damages of over $200,000, Macdonald subsequently also ruled that Stewart's claim of deliberate malfeasance on Greenspan's part was unmeritorious, calling it a reasonable error in judgement, and ordered Stewart to pay court costs to Greenspan as well.[10]
Greenspan subsequently waived the claim to costs, on condition that Stewart release a statement renouncing his prior claims that Greenspan had acted improperly.[11]
Cyril Belshaw, whose murder trial was depicted in a 1994 film, also criticized his episode for purportedly not being unequivocal enough about his innocence.[12]
| Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|
| Gemini Awards | 1993 | Best TV Movie | George Jonas for "Regina v. Nelles" | [13] | |
| Best Short Dramatic Program | George Jonas for "Regina v. Stewart" | ||||
| 1994 | George Jonas for "Regina v. Coffin" | [14] | |||
| Best Direction in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series | Sturla Gunnarsson for "Regina v. Truscott" | ||||
| 1995 | Best Direction in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series | Michael Anderson for "Rex v. De Marigny" | [15] | ||
| Best Production Design or Art Direction | Alicia Keywan, Armando Sgrignuoli |