Elder abuse is a social phenomenon which has recently been brought to light. As such it has brought about different legal responses in the Canadian provinces. The Atlantic provinces have all enacted Adult protection legislation modelled on child protection legislation. The author has undertaken a study of New Brunswick legislation in order to evaluate which factors are most important when judges order protective measures. Different materials have been analysed such as New Brunswick court files from 1983 to 1989, cases which have never gone to court collected by nurses and social workers, interviews with social workers, and the normal practice of New Brunswick judges and crown prosecutors. From those data, it was found that two different factors play an important role in the administration of Adult protection legislation. First, the legal representation of the elderly person is the most significant factor influencing the outcome of the case. The other important factor is the legal philosophy espoused by the relevant judges. Judges adopting a liberal philosophy are more critical of that legislation as compared with judges who accept the social intervention philosophy which forms the basis of this legislation.