Anne-France Goldwater (born July 14, 1960)"Anne-France Goldwater: attention à l'arbitre!"
'' La Presse, September 3, 2011. is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

lawyer and television personality, best known as the arbitrator on ''L'Arbitre'', a

court show A court show (also known as a judge show, legal/courtroom program, courtroom series, or judicial show) is a broadcast programming subgenre of either legal dramas or reality legal programming. Court shows present content mainly in the form of lega ...

which debuted on the V television network in 2011."Anne-France Goldwater chosen to be Quebec’s version of Judge Judy"
'' The Gazette'', July 29, 2011. Goldwater was born in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

, the daughter of lawyers Sam Goldwater and Ruth Zendel. She studied law at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

before being admitted to the

Bar of Quebec The Bar of Quebec (french: Barreau du Québec) is the regulatory body for the practice of advocates in the Canadian province of Quebec and one of two legal regulatory bodies in the province. It was founded on May 30, 1849, as the Bar of Lower Ca ...

Law

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriage ...

lawyer from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, Goldwater is a partner with Marie-Hélène Dubé in the firm of Goldwater, Dubé. The firm has been involved in some of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

's highest-profile family law cases, including '' Hendricks and Leboeuf v. Quebec'', the Quebec Superior Court case which legalized same-sex marriage in Quebec; ''Lola vs. Eric'', a case which resulted in the

Quebec Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal of Quebec (sometimes referred to as Quebec Court of Appeal or QCA) (in French: ''la Cour d'appel du Québec'') is the highest judicial court in Quebec, Canada. It hears cases in Quebec City and Montreal. History The Court wa ...

declaring parts of Quebec's

common-law marriage Common-law marriage, also known as non-ceremonial marriage, marriage, informal marriage, or marriage by habit and repute, is a legal framework where a couple may be considered married without having formally registered their relation as a civil ...

legislation to be unconstitutional in its denial of

alimony Alimony, also called aliment (Scotland), maintenance (England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Canada, New Zealand), spousal support (U.S., Canada) and spouse maintenance (Australia), is a legal obligation on a person to provide financial sup ...

and

matrimonial regime Matrimonial regimes, or marital property systems, are systems of property ownership between spouses providing for the creation or absence of a marital estate (land), estate and if created, what properties are included in that estate, how and by wh ...

rights, a decision ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court; and Bruker v. Markovitz, a Supreme Court case which found that a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

man could be held legally responsible for refusing to grant his former wife a ''

get Get or GET may refer to: * Get (animal), the offspring of an animal * Get (divorce document), in Jewish religious law * GET (HTTP), a type of HTTP request * "Get" (song), by the Groggers * Georgia Time, used in the Republic of Georgia * Get AS, a ...

'' following their civil divorce. She received the SOGIC Ally Award from the

Canadian Bar Association The Canadian Bar Association (CBA), or Association du barreau canadien (ABC) in French, represents over 37,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, law teachers and law students from across Canada. History The Association's first Annual Meeting was he ...

's Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Conference in 2003 for her role in ''Hendricks and Leboeuf v. Quebec''.

Broadcasting

Goldwater has been an outspoken public figure, earning the nickname "Goldfighter" for her sometimes controversial public statements. She was selected to host ''L'Arbitre'' in part because of her assertive style, which frequently sees her compared to

Judy Sheindlin Judith Susan Sheindlin ('' née'' Blum; born October 21, 1942), known professionally as Judge Judy, is an American court show arbitrator, media personality, television producer, author, women's advancement philanthropist and former prosecutor ...

on the popular courtroom series ''

Judge Judy ''Judge Judy'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show presided over by former Manhattan Family Court Judge Judith Sheindlin. The show featured Sheindlin as she adjudicated real-life small-claims disputes within a simulated courtr ...

''. Goldwater was a panelist in the 2011 edition of

Première Chaîne A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its firs ...

's ''

Le Combat des livres ''Le Combat des livres'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Ici Radio-Canada Première in Canada. A French edition of the ''Canada Reads'' competition, the program was launched in 2004. It aired annually from ...

'', advocating for a French translation of David Gilmour's memoir ''

The Film Club ''The Film Club'' is a non-fiction book by Canadian writer David Gilmour. It is a memoir of himself letting his teenage son (Jesse Gilmour) drop out of high school under the stipulation that he must watch three films a week. It was first publishe ...

'', and in the 2012 edition of

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

's ''

Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Frenc ...

'', advocating for

John Vaillant John Vaillant (born June 4, 1962) is an American-Canadian writer and journalist whose work has appeared in ''The New Yorker, The Atlantic, National Geographic'', and '' Outside''. He has written both non-fiction and fiction books. Personal life ...

's book ''The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival''. She was only the second personality, following

Maureen McTeer Maureen Anne McTeer (born February 27, 1952) is a Canadian author and lawyer, married to Joe Clark, the 16th Prime Minister of Canada. Family and education McTeer was born in Cumberland, Ontario, to John and Bea McTeer. Her father taught her an ...

, ever to participate in both the English and French programs. On the first day of discussions in the English ''Canada Reads'', Goldwater faced criticism after calling

Carmen Aguirre Carmen Aguirre is a Chilean-born Canadian actress and writer. She plays a prominent role in ''Endgame''. Early in her life, she lived and worked as a member of the Chilean Resistance. Career Her 2011 book ''Something Fierce: Memoirs of a Revo ...

"a bloody terrorist", and alleging that

Marina Nemat Marina Nemat ( fa, مارینا نِمت, russian: Марина Немат; born 22 April 1965) is the author of two memoirs about her life growing up in Iran, serving time in Evin Prison for speaking out against the Iranian government, escapi ...

"tells a story that's not true". In response, Nemat posted on Facebook, "I hope oldwatercan produce evidence to back up her claims. If not, I would like to receive a public apology from her." Goldwater responded to the criticism by stating that "When you're in a debate, I think it's gloves off. You can't apologize for taking a position in a debate because otherwise you would never take a position in a debate...in this country there is a tolerance for a difference of opinion, and if somebody just doesn't buy your story, they don't buy their story.""Canada Reads panelist defends her ‘gloves off’ comments"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', February 7, 2012. However, ''The Globe and Mail'' also noted that Goldwater approached the rest of the week's debates in a more conciliatory and supportive tone, and she ultimately voted for Aguirre's book to win the competition. In addition, ''Globe and Mail'' literary critic John Barber noted that Goldwater's initial statements about the books were essentially impossible to prove or disprove, writing that "both, with their intensely personal, unverifiable narratives, challenge readers to re-imagine the clouded borderland between fact and fiction.""Canada Reads caught in fact-fiction divide"
''

'', February 7, 2012.

References

External links

Goldwater, Dubé''L'Arbitre''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldwater, Anne-France 1960 births Lawyers from Montreal Canadian television hosts French Quebecers Living people Television judges Canadian women lawyers Anglophone Quebec people Canadian women television hosts Canadian people of Jewish descent McGill University Faculty of Law alumni