1998 Fredericton Convocation
Hoyt, William
Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.)
Orator: Patterson, Stephen E.
Citation:
CONVOCATION, OCTOBER, 1998
WILLIAM HOYT
to be Doctor of Laws
1998 has been a big year for Bill Hoyt. When it began, he was quietly thinking of cutting back, the sort of thing that everyone thinks about at a certain age. He would, he surmised, continue to sit on New Brunswick's highest court, the Court of Appeal, but he would step down from his position as Chief Justice and Administrator of the Province of New Brunswick.
Then came January 30, a date with no particular significance for our top judge, but one of tragic importance for the people of Northern Ireland, since it was the twenty-sixth anniversary of Bloody Sunday, a day when 14 young nationalist protestors from Londonderry died in a hail of bullets fired by British paratroopers. Prime Minister Tony Blair used the occasion to announce that he would reopen the file on Bloody Sunday: he would appoint an investigative tribunal with a broad mandate to re-examine the findings reported by Lord Chief Justice Widgery 25 years before. On February 20, Blair announced the members of the tribunal, the first in British history in which commonwealth judges outnumbered the single British judge. Chief Justice William Hoyt was one of them.
There is perhaps no better illustration of Bill Hoyt's success in the law, nor clearer indication of his reputation for objectivity and fairness than this appointment. Nor is there a finer example of his willingness to put aside his personal comfort, so dearly earned by a long and diligent career, to serve a higher good. He was called, and he immediately replied: "I'll do it."
Bill Hoyt was born in Saint John and grew up in various small towns in southern New Brunswick. He attended Woodstock High School in the years when that school excelled in basketball, and, yes, the first court he ever found his way around was the basketball court. He was a star player. From Woodstock High he went to Acadia University where he took BA and MA degrees in history and was a contemporary of Richard Hatfield. He capped his academic training with degrees at Cambridge University in England, and has ever since actively supported its Canadian Institute for Advanced Legal Studies. Returning to Fredericton, he was admitted to the New Brunswick bar and joined a leading Fredericton law firm, emerging eventually as the senior partner in Hoyt, Mockler, Allen & Dixon. Perhaps his biggest case was the famous New Brunswick newspaper monopoly case which he prosecuted for the federal government. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1972, and in 1981 was named to the Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick. Within three years, he was elevated to the province's highest court, the Court of Appeal, where he has served ever since, the past five years as Chief Justice.
It can be truly said that society saves its toughest questions for its courts of law, often calling upon judges to decide issues that the rest of us cannot resolve, or upon which we are frequently sharply divided. It takes a man of Bill Hoyt's character and capacity to determine such issues, and retain his reputation for fairness. He can be firm and direct when necessary: as he told counsel appearing before him on an appeal, "You don't just open up cases on a whim." He writes closely reasoned decisions, and he expects those who argue before him to present him with logical reasons for adopting their position. His style, as a fellow judge has observed, is a common sense one. At the same time, he has the uncanny ability to dissipate the tension that is often endemic to courtrooms. He can be witty, even casual, when necessary. He is no stuffed shirt, and he is not impressed by pomposity. As Chief Justice, he brought a humane face to the court, where dignity did not require an inflated sense of self-importance.
Over the years, Bill Hoyt has made room in his busy life for family, community, and friends. He once taught family law in UNB's Law School. He was active in the various barristers' societies, serving as president locally and of the New Brunswick Branch of the Canadian Bar Association. He and his wife Joan have been active supporters of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery and the Canadian Institute of International Affairs. They love the out-of-doors and spending time at their summer cottage. Bill is an avid salmon fisherman (of modest success, according to a friend), and a great fan of baseball.
Bill Hoyt has served New Brunswick with distinction in a long and fruitful career. He has gained international recognition for his integrity, reasonableness, and sense of fair-play. At the peak of his career, he has accepted what many of us would consider an almost impossible challenge, the challenge of finding truth in a land deeply divided over the very meaning of truth. But he is used to dealing with the tough questions, and in tackling these ones, we wish him every success.
From: Honoris Causa - UA Case 70, Box 3
WILLIAM HOYT
to be Doctor of Laws
1998 has been a big year for Bill Hoyt. When it began, he was quietly thinking of cutting back, the sort of thing that everyone thinks about at a certain age. He would, he surmised, continue to sit on New Brunswick's highest court, the Court of Appeal, but he would step down from his position as Chief Justice and Administrator of the Province of New Brunswick.
Then came January 30, a date with no particular significance for our top judge, but one of tragic importance for the people of Northern Ireland, since it was the twenty-sixth anniversary of Bloody Sunday, a day when 14 young nationalist protestors from Londonderry died in a hail of bullets fired by British paratroopers. Prime Minister Tony Blair used the occasion to announce that he would reopen the file on Bloody Sunday: he would appoint an investigative tribunal with a broad mandate to re-examine the findings reported by Lord Chief Justice Widgery 25 years before. On February 20, Blair announced the members of the tribunal, the first in British history in which commonwealth judges outnumbered the single British judge. Chief Justice William Hoyt was one of them.
There is perhaps no better illustration of Bill Hoyt's success in the law, nor clearer indication of his reputation for objectivity and fairness than this appointment. Nor is there a finer example of his willingness to put aside his personal comfort, so dearly earned by a long and diligent career, to serve a higher good. He was called, and he immediately replied: "I'll do it."
Bill Hoyt was born in Saint John and grew up in various small towns in southern New Brunswick. He attended Woodstock High School in the years when that school excelled in basketball, and, yes, the first court he ever found his way around was the basketball court. He was a star player. From Woodstock High he went to Acadia University where he took BA and MA degrees in history and was a contemporary of Richard Hatfield. He capped his academic training with degrees at Cambridge University in England, and has ever since actively supported its Canadian Institute for Advanced Legal Studies. Returning to Fredericton, he was admitted to the New Brunswick bar and joined a leading Fredericton law firm, emerging eventually as the senior partner in Hoyt, Mockler, Allen & Dixon. Perhaps his biggest case was the famous New Brunswick newspaper monopoly case which he prosecuted for the federal government. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1972, and in 1981 was named to the Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick. Within three years, he was elevated to the province's highest court, the Court of Appeal, where he has served ever since, the past five years as Chief Justice.
It can be truly said that society saves its toughest questions for its courts of law, often calling upon judges to decide issues that the rest of us cannot resolve, or upon which we are frequently sharply divided. It takes a man of Bill Hoyt's character and capacity to determine such issues, and retain his reputation for fairness. He can be firm and direct when necessary: as he told counsel appearing before him on an appeal, "You don't just open up cases on a whim." He writes closely reasoned decisions, and he expects those who argue before him to present him with logical reasons for adopting their position. His style, as a fellow judge has observed, is a common sense one. At the same time, he has the uncanny ability to dissipate the tension that is often endemic to courtrooms. He can be witty, even casual, when necessary. He is no stuffed shirt, and he is not impressed by pomposity. As Chief Justice, he brought a humane face to the court, where dignity did not require an inflated sense of self-importance.
Over the years, Bill Hoyt has made room in his busy life for family, community, and friends. He once taught family law in UNB's Law School. He was active in the various barristers' societies, serving as president locally and of the New Brunswick Branch of the Canadian Bar Association. He and his wife Joan have been active supporters of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery and the Canadian Institute of International Affairs. They love the out-of-doors and spending time at their summer cottage. Bill is an avid salmon fisherman (of modest success, according to a friend), and a great fan of baseball.
Bill Hoyt has served New Brunswick with distinction in a long and fruitful career. He has gained international recognition for his integrity, reasonableness, and sense of fair-play. At the peak of his career, he has accepted what many of us would consider an almost impossible challenge, the challenge of finding truth in a land deeply divided over the very meaning of truth. But he is used to dealing with the tough questions, and in tackling these ones, we wish him every success.
From: Honoris Causa - UA Case 70, Box 3
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