Roderick P. Wacowich joined the Bar of Alberta in 1975.[a] Throughout the 1970s, he worked as a lawyer for the office of the Solicitor General of Alberta, which was then known as the Attorney General of Alberta.[6][7][8][9] In the 1980s, Wacowich worked as a crown agent in the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta.[10]
In April 1985, a previously completed inquiry into the death of James Townshend was reopened following the introduction of new evidence by Wacowich.[11] After Townshend attempted an armed robbery in Edmonton's Abbottsfield Mall, he was shot and killed by Edmonton police. The Edmonton Police Service claimed that Townshend raised and pointed a shotgun toward them, prompting police retaliation; however, Wacowich obtained a letter written by a police informant which questioned the accuracy of the police narrative.[12][13]
Throughout the 1980s, Wacowich supported the anti-abortion movement; in 1983, Wacowich signed the Right-To-Life Signature Proclamation, an Alberta anti-abortion petition, and in 1987, the Edmonton Journal reported that Wacowich was challenging anti-abortion doctors in court.[14][15][16] When Albertan doctors began charging fees for abortion referral letters in 1987, the Edmonton Journal reported that "Wacowich said the $84.50 fee covered everything involved with securing the therapeutic abortion, and he questioned the doctors' desire to charge for the letter. 'What will they start charging for next -- Band-Aids?' he asked."[17]
Throughout the 1990s, Wacowich served as the Assistant Deputy Minister for Alberta Court Services.[18][19]
In 2003, Wacowich became a Master in Chambers for Alberta Justice.[19][20] He retired on February 28, 2019.[21]
Notable trials
In June 1985, Wacowich represented Canadian psychologist Louise Nadeau in McNair v Nadeau et al.[22]
In 2018, he delivered judgement in Woitas v Tremblay and cited Kuipers v Gordon Riley Transport for Samuel Sereth Lieberman's dismissal of the plaintiff's suggestion that "the actions of the other drivers established a 'chain of causation' leading up to the collision involving the plaintiff."[23][24][25]
Notes
^In 2003, the Edmonton Journal reported "Wacowich has been with Alberta Justice for 28 years."[5]
