The Persons case : the origins and legacy of the fight for legal personhood / Robert J. Sharpe and Patricia I. McMahon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sharpe, Robert J.

Contributor:

McMahon, Patricia I., 1972-

Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History.

Series:

Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Murphy, Emily F. (Emily Ferguson), 1868-1933--Trials, litigation, etc.

Murphy, Emily F.

Edwards, Henrietta Muir--Trials, litigation, etc.

Edwards, Henrietta Muir.

Women's rights--Canada--History.

Women's rights.

Women--Legal status, laws, etc--Canada--History.

Women.

Persons (Law)--Canada--History.

Persons (Law).

Canada.

Genre:

Comptes rendus de proces et d'arbitrage.

Trial and arbitral proceedings.

Trials, litigation, etc.

History.

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (302 p.)

Place of Publication:

Toronto [Ont.] : Published for the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History by University of Toronto Press, c2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"On 18 October 1929, John Sankey, England's reform-minded Lord Chancellor, ruled that women were eligible for appointment to Canada's Senate. Initiated by Edmonton judge Emily Murphy and four other activist women, the Persons case challenged the exclusion of women from Canada's upper house and the idea that the meaning of the constitution could not change with time. The Persons Case considers the case in its political and social context and examines the lives of the key players - Henrietta Muir Edwards, Nellie McClung, Emily Murphy, Louise McKinney; and Irene Pariby, the politicians who opposed the appointment of women, the lawyers who argued the case, and the judges who decided it." "Robert J. Sharpe and Patricia I. McMahon examine the Persons case as a pivotal moment in the struggle for women's rights and as one of the most important constitutional decisions in Canadian history. Lord Sankey's decision overruled the Supreme Court of Canada's judgment that the courts could not depart from the original intent of the framers of Canada's constitution in 1867. Describing the constitution as a 'living tree, ' the decision led to a reassessment of the nature of the constitution itself. After the Persons case, the constitution could no longer be viewed as fixed and unalterable, but had to be treated as a document that, in the words of Sankey, was in 'a continuous process of evolution.'" "The Persons Case is a comprehensive study of this important event, examining the case itself, the ruling of the Privy Council, and the profound effect that it had on women's rights and the constitutional history of Canada."--Jacket

Contents:

Introduction: 'A relic of days more barbarous than ours'

First of the five

The other four

Women and the law : the trials of legal personhood

Emily Murphy's Senate campaign

Going to court

The Supreme Court of Canada decides

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and the Canadian Constitution

Waiting to be heard

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council decides

The political, cultural, and legal legacy of the Persons case.

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-4426-9234-0

1-4426-8498-4

OCLC:

1381092818