Saint John judge remembered for his unique and 'action-oriented' approach

Nearly 30 years ago, two-year-old Jacqueline Brewer died of dehydration and neglect in a squalid Saint John apartment.

Her parents were convicted of manslaughter and the judge who presided over the trial wanted to make sure Jacqueline and her tragic death were not forgotten with the passage of time.

As part of the sentencing process, the judge included an order for a public memorial in Jacqueline's memory and one was ultimately installed in Rainbow Park in the city's south end. 

That judge was Hugh Hendry McLellan, who died May 17 at the age of 76.

David Smith, a retired chief justice of the Court of Queen's Bench (now Court of King's Bench), said the approach McLellan took in that sentencing hearing reflected how much he cared about the victims in the cases that came before him.

"He was action-oriented," Smith said in an interview about McLellan's passing and his legacy.

"He certainly wanted people to know that this was caused by the neglect of the parents, and unfortunately under the eyes of social workers and health-care experts and child protection officials who clearly were involved with the case.

"He had some very strong feelings and, of course, was very family-oriented and this affected him greatly."

McLellan became a judge in 1986 when he was 38 and had a young family of his own. Smith said McLellan wanted his kids to learn a strong work ethic, so he'd do things like write out his decisions by hand at the dining room table, where they could see him at work.

He also spent a lot of time with them, said Smith, taking them on adventures that required arduous exercise.

"One of the things they would do is go to Mount Washington [in New Hampshire] to ski as a family," Smith said. "And not only did they ski, they would ski down the hill and then walk up the hill … they might only get in three runs a day."

Smith said McLellan remained very active — a deep-sea diver who gave up skiing for the new challenge of snowboarding as he aged. He also remained on the bench until he retired in 2023.

Smith knew McLellan for decades, since the beginning of his own judicial career. He said McLellan was very supportive of new judges.

"When I was first appointed as a judge, he was probably one of the first people, one of the first judges to contact me and ask me if I needed any help or if he could offer some advice, which he did," said Smith. 

"He always reached out to new judges and was very generous with his time. [He would] help them get accustomed to their new responsibilities."

Smith said McLellan worked hard and fast, and was always eagerly taking on difficult cases.

"He was a dream judge for a chief justice," Smith said. "I could call him anytime night or day, [and he would] take on the toughest cases without notice and he would never refuse. Also, he could hear family, criminal or civil matters in either language and then, to boot, he would type up his own decisions. He was our most versatile judge."

Smith also said McLellan had a "unique style," sharing a story about how he handled people who were behind in child support payments.

"He would have a group in front of him and as he was starting the hearing, he would yell out to the sheriff, 'How many cells do we have, sheriff?' And the sheriff would reply and he would say, 'Look, we'll take a 10-minute break now and then we'll resume.' And everybody would make a mad scramble for their cellphones. Amazingly, almost all the support payments were brought up to date."

The funeral for McLellan will be held on Saturday at Grace Presbyterian Church in Saint John.