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then recruit friends, neighbours and anybody willing to contribute other
items like socks and mitts. Michelle and her family would wrap hundreds
of items, and then sneak out to the Spirit Tree, a pine tree in Kamloops
where many homeless people were known to congregate. They would decorate
the tree and carefully put the presents underneath. Two days later
they would return to clean up the aftermath.
Michelle’s success as a mother is exemplified in her exceptional children,
who are both graduating with their university degrees this year.
Michelle’s compassion is also seen in the relationship she had with her
kind and loving stepfather, Mike. After her mother died in 1998, Michelle
came back to Vancouver regularly to ensure that her children spent time
with their grandfather Mike, and to help care for him until the end of his life.
Fortunately for Michelle, she has a solid relationship with her natural
father, Chuck, who grew up on the mean streets of Baltimore, and continues
to live in the United States. She counts her stepmother, Sue, and her siblings,
Charlene, Cheryl, and Chuck Jr., as well as all her nieces and nephews, as
part of her loving family. Every year around the July 4 weekend, the whole
Stanford clan gathers for a raucous, loud party filled with laughter.
It is easy to see how Michelle’s skills and passion translate into her new
career as a judge.
Michelle is a great listener and communicator. She understands access to
justice issues, including barriers arising from racism, poverty and mental
health issues. Growing up in a tough working-class neighbourhood,
Michelle acquired a deep understanding of people from all walks of life. As
a lecturer, Michelle spoke of the nuances of the law and presented issues
from both perspectives. Professor Dhand describes her as brilliant, with an
amazing analytical approach and great writing skills.
Michelle, like many counsel in Kamloops, admired how Judge Bill Blair
(now retired) connected with litigants. He would roll his chair over to the
prisoner’s dock and speak directly to the person he was about to sentence
or detain, with genuine respect and empathy. Michelle often spoke of wanting
to be that kind of judge—someone who listened, treated everyone fairly
and respectfully, and made them feel that they had truly been heard.
Michelle, who was appointed to the B.C. Provincial Court last year, has
already demonstrated that she is exactly that kind of judge.
ENDNOTES
1. It is unclear whether Michelle’s powers of persuasion
had anything to do with the firm’s later shortening its
name (mercifully) to Schroeder & Company.
2. Readers of a certain vintage will remember the kerfuffle
caused by the publication of the 1990 Barbara
Woodley photograph showing what appears to be a
naked and smiling Kim Campbell standing behind a
set of lawyer’s robes that she is holding toward the
camera.