William Goldwin Carrington Howland

William G.C. Howland
Born (1915-03-17)March 17, 1915
Toronto, Canada
Died May 13, 1994(1994-05-13)
London, United Kingdom
Occupation Lawyer, Jurist
Spouse(s) Margaret Patricia Green

William Goldwin Carrington Howland (March 17, 1915 – May 13, 1994) was a lawyer, judge and former Chief Justice of Ontario, Canada.

Howland was born in Toronto and educated at Upper Canada College. He graduated from the University of Toronto in 1936, and afterwards enrolled at Osgoode Hall Law School. He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1939. In 1975, Howland was appointed a Judge to the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Ontario. Two years later, he was appointed Chief Justice of Ontario, and remained in this position until his retirement in 1992.

Protecting the rights of individuals in Ontario

On April 10, 1989, Chief Justice Howland issued a historic Practice Directive to the Ontario Courts which reaffirmed the right of the citizens of Ontario to audio record their own court hearing under Section 136(2)(b) of Ontario's Courts of Justice Act. In his Practice Directive, Justice Howland stated that the rights of the citizens under section 136(2)(b) of the Act were to be respected by the courts without citizens having to make oral or written arguments. Many consider Justice Howland's directive to the courts as one of his most notable contributions to protecting the rights of self represented individuals before the courts. Even today, Justice Howland's practice directive continues to be used as a reference when audio recording equipment is used by self represented persons in their court hearings.

Practice Directive (April 10, 1989)

”Subject to any order made by the presiding judge as to non-publication of court proceedings, and to the right of the presiding judge to give such directions from time to time as he or she may see fit as to the manner in which an audio recording may be made at a court hearing pursuant to s. 146 [now s. 136] of the Courts of Justice Act, the unobtrusive use of a recording device from the body of the courtroom by a solicitor, a party acting in person, or a journalist for the sole purpose of supplementing or replacing handwritten notes may be considered as being approved without an oral or written application to the presiding judge.” Chief Justice of Ontario W.G.C Howland

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