At work and home, families came first

Queen's Bench justice a 'tireless advocate' for children

By: Carol Sanders

 

As Manitoba’s longest-serving female judge and a mom devoted to family, Justice Robyn Diamond left her mark on the province’s family court.

"She was a going concern who felt deeply and acted purposefully," said Court of Queen’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal.   

Diamond, who died of cancer on May 29 at age 65, helped oversee the evolution of a family court judge from the traditional role of adjudicator to becoming a mediator, collaborator, conflict manager and dispute resolver.

"She was a woman of distinction and not just because she was in the judiciary," Joyal said. "She was present at the creation of so many important things and a participant in shaping many of the important trends in family law."

Diamond, who graduated from the University of Manitoba’s law school, was passionate about family law and child protection. In the early part of her career, she served as director of the Family Law Branch of the Department of Justice. In 1989, at 38, she was appointed to the Court of Queen’s Bench. She served in the family division until her retirement in September 2017.

At the Manitoba legislature last fall, the recently retired judge was thanked by legislators on both sides of the aisle. Then-justice minister Heather Stefanson hailed her as the longest-serving female judge in the province.

Stefanson thanked Diamond for her contributions to improving the family division and for her work as Canada’s representative to the International Tribunal on Child Abduction at the Hague. 

Diamond was part of a network of international judges helping to ensure the proper return of children to their home country after being abducted to foreign jurisdictions, she said. 

"She’s been a tireless advocate for families and children in our province and across the globe," Stefanson said at the time.

NDP justice critic Andrew Swan, a lawyer who appeared before her many times while practising family law, told his fellow legislators that he admired Diamond’s dedication and compassion. She helped overhaul the family division of the Court of Queen’s Bench with her work towards developing a case management system, Swan said. Judges went from being umpires to problem solvers, he told the legislature.

"It was a more transparent, meaningful way of approaching what can be a very emotional, stressful time for children and families," he said. 

 

Diamond was born in Salt Lake City on Aug. 8, 1952, to Marion and Monte Moglove. She was a year old when they moved to Winnipeg, where Moglove grew up in a home that nurtured her love for family and hard work.

"She was always mindful of the needs of families... and she was mindful of the needs of her own family," said Swan, who remembered one of Diamond’s two sons attending court with her on Take Your Kid to Work Day.

"I was arguing a motion when he asked if he could watch proceedings down the hall in the Court of Appeal," said Swan.

Her son Michael, now 33, remembers going to work with his mom.

"It was a fun and cool day," said Michael, who lives in Toronto and works in politics and government relations. He said he doesn’t remember asking to skip out of his mom’s family courtroom to watch an appeal. He does remember being four years old and his mom taking him to the legislative dining room when she was director of the Family Law Branch before being appointed to the bench.

"I was impressed by all the MLAs," said Michael, who felt called to work in politics.

Their mom was a role model for him and his brother Richard, who practises family law in Toronto. 

‘She took both her professional and family life seriously," said Michael. "Work was present in her home life but not distracting her. There’d always be piles of papers around and a Dictaphone for dictation. I remember, on a couple of occasions, court proceedings (of an urgent nature) taking place in our living room when she was the duty judge."

Helping families was Diamond’s driving force.

"Part of her personality was to help families avoid litigation and avoid trial and come to an agreement that worked for that family," said Michael. "Her strength she was most proud of was being able to bring people together."

In addition to her family and court duties, Diamond dedicated her time to serving on committees that developed guidelines to improve how courts deal with families and children, Joyal said.  

"It really was a vocation for her," and it showed, said Joyal. "As you become more immersed in these areas, your passions and dedication are heightened because you know what can be done and what has to be done."

Diamond did all that while maintaining a healthy work-life balance, said Joyal.

"She gave unwavering support to her husband Harvey and two sons Richard and Michael," he said.

Her husband, retired lawyer Harvey Diamond in Winnipeg, says he misses her all the time. "She was my best friend." 

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca