Vancouver Island, Northern region appointees have criminal law experience
The BC government has announced the appointments of three new judges of the Provincial Court of British Columbia: Micah Rankin, effective Feb. 4; Charles Hutchison, effective Feb. 5; and Jodi Michaels, effective Feb. 11.
“It is my great pleasure and privilege to announce that the Lieutenant Governor in Council has signed Orders in Council appointing three judges to the Provincial Court,” said Melissa Gillespie, chief judge of the Provincial Court, in a news release.
The court shared that the new judicial appointees have received the following assignments:
- Rankin: Vancouver Island region, with chambers in Victoria
- Hutchinson: Northern region, with chambers in Prince George
- Michaels: Northern region, with chambers in Dawson Creek
In its news release, the provincial government noted that these are the fourth, fifth, and sixth appointments of new Provincial Court judges in two months, with Michael Lefebure in Chilliwack and Christina Proteau in Nanaimo announced last December, and Tina-Marie Bradford in Penticton announced earlier in January.
The BC government’s and the Provincial Court’s news releases provided more information regarding the three newly appointed judges.
Micah Rankin
Rankin most recently worked as Crown counsel in Victoria. He joined the BC Prosecution Service’s Criminal Appeals and Special Prosecutions Unit in 2020.
In 2018, he became civil counsel at the BC Ministry of the Attorney General. He has chaired the board of directors of Access Pro Bono BC and served as pro bono counsel for the BC Civil Liberties Association and other organizations.
Rankin was a founding member of the Thompson Rivers University Faculty of Law in Kamloops, which was then the first new law school in the country in three decades.
He was a private practitioner handling civil litigation matters at a law firm for three years. He clerked and articled with the Court of Appeal for British Columbia.
Rankin received a King’s Counsel designation in 2023. He obtained his LLM in 2011.
Charles Hutchinson
With over 12 years of legal experience, Hutchinson has lived and worked in northern BC and practised in northwestern BC since his admission to the province’s bar in 2013. He most recently served as criminal defence counsel in Prince George.
In Prince George, he established his own private practice, which focused on criminal defence, family law, and child protection matters.
Beginning in 2017, Hutchinson has been a local agent for Legal Aid BC in the Vanderhoof and Fort St. James area. In this role, he has overseen intake services and worked and travelled across northern BC.
He articled in Vanderhoof. He graduated from Allard School of Law in 2012.
Jodi Michaels
Michaels has over 13 years of legal experience across criminal, family, and civil litigation.
In 2022, she moved to northern BC and became a Crown prosecutor at the BC Prosecution Service. She practised primarily in northeastern BC.
During the annual Crown conference in May 2024, Michaels received the Northern Region Leadership Award for her leadership and professional contributions.
She previously launched a practice that dealt with criminal defence, family litigation, and parents’ counsel work. She also tackled civil forfeiture proceedings, Insurance Corporation of British Columbia plaintiff litigation, residential tenancy and property disputes, and other civil matters.
In Vancouver, Michaels articled with a small criminal defence firm. She joined the BC bar in 2012.
