Nova Scotia Supreme Court
The Nova Scotia Supreme Court is a superior court in the province of Nova Scotia.
The Supreme Court consists of 25 judicial seats including the position of Chief Justice and Associate Chief Justice. At any given time there may be one or more additional justices who sit as supernumerary justices. The justices sit in 18 different locations around the province.
Jurisdiction
As with all superior trial courts across the country, the court has inherent jurisdiction. It hears civil and criminal trials. The criminal trials can be judge alone or judge and jury. The court also hears appeals from the Provincial Court, small claims court, Family court, and various provincial tribunals.Appeals of Supreme Court decisions are then made to the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal.
History
While the first court administering the Common Law was established in Annapolis Royal in 1721, the creation of a Supreme Court took place on October 21, 1754, several years before the Province was granted a legislative assembly. The court is the oldest court in Canada and is among the oldest in North America.Jonathan Belcher was appointed the first Chief Justice of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court. The court's jurisdiction extended to the entire colony, which, after the Treaty of Paris ended the war with France in 1763, includes present day Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and eastern Maine.
In 1990, on the recommendation of the Nova Scotia Court Structure Task Force, the County and Supreme courts were merged to create a bench of 25 judges at the trial level. Since 1999, the Supreme Court also administers the Nova Scotia Family Division Court, with eight judges, that has jurisdiction over divorces and other family law cases in the Halifax and industrial Cape Breton.
Supreme Court Family Division
The Supreme Court includes the Family Division which adjudicates matters of family law in the regions of Halifax and Cape Breton. As Supreme Court Justices, they have authority over both divorce as well as all other family law matters, unlike their provincial court counterparts who do not have the federal authority to adjudicate divorces.Justices of the Supreme Court
| Name | Location | Date appointed | Appointed by | Prior position |
| Chief Justice Deborah K. Smith | Halifax | 2019 | Trudeau | Associate Chief Justice of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice McInnes Cooper |
| Associate Chief Justice Patrick J. Duncan | Halifax | 2007 | Harper | Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Beveridge, MacPherson & Duncan NS Legal Aid |
| Justice Patrick Murray | Sydney | 2010 | Harper | Murray, Gouthro, Wall LLP Gillis and Murray LLP Stewart, McKelvey, Stirling, Scales LLP |
| Justice Pierre L. Muise | Yarmouth | 2010 | Harper | Provincial Court Judge NS Public Prosecution Service |
| Justice Peter Rosinski | Halifax | 2010 | Harper | NS Public Prosecution Service Appeal Crown McLean & Associates Margeson & Wilson MacIntosh, MacDonnell & MacDonald |
| Justice James L. Chipman | Halifax | 2013 | Harper | Stewart McKelvey Sterling Scales LLP Cox Downie |
| Justice Joshua M. Arnold | Halifax | 2013 | Harper | Arnold Pizzo McKegan LLP NS Crown Attorney |
| Justice Robin C. M. Gogan | Sydney | 2013 | Harper | Breton Law Group Sampson McDougall |
| Justice Denise Boudreau | Halifax | 2013 | Harper | Public Prosecution Service of Canada NS Legal Aid LeBlanc, MacDonald, and Pickup |
| Justice Jamie Campbell | Halifax | 2014 | Harper | Provincial Court Judge Cox Hanson |
| Justice Jeffrey R. Hunt | Truro | 2015 | Harper | Patterson Law |
| Justice D. Timothy Gabriel | Halifax | 2016 | Trudeau | Provincial Court Judge Landry McGillivray |
| Justice Ann E. Smith | Halifax | 2016 | Trudeau | Burchells LLP |
| Justice Christa Brothers | Halifax | 2017 | Trudeau | Stewart McKelvey Sterling Scales LLP |
| Justice John Bodurtha | Halifax | 2018 | Trudeau | Atlantic Regional Office, Justice Canada |
| Justice Darlene Jamieson | Halifax | 2018 | Trudeau | Merrick Jamieson Sterns Washington & Mahody |
| Justice Scott Norton | Halifax | 2018 | Trudeau | Stewart McKelvey |
| Justice John Keith | Halifax | 2019 | Trudeau | Weir Foulds, Toronto Cox & Palmer, Halifax |
| Justice Diane Rowe | Bridgewater | 2020 | Trudeau | Department of Justice |
| Justice Jean Dewolfe | Kentville | 2021 | Trudeau | Provincial Court of Nova Scotia |
| Justice Lloyd Berliner | 2021 | Trudeau | Patterson Law | |
| Justice Gail Gatchalian | Halifax | 2021 | Trudeau | Pink Larkin Lawyers |
| Name | Location | Date appointed | Appointed by | Prior position |
| Justice Frank C. Edwards | Sydney | 1993 | Chrétien | |
| Justice Gerald R. P. Moir | Halifax | 1997 | Chrétien | Burchell, MacDougall Federal Business Development Bank Weldo, Misener & Covert |
| Justice Robert William Wright | Halifax | 1998 | Chrétien | Daley, Black & Moreira |
| Justice C. Richard Coughlan | Bridgewater | 2001 | Chrétien | Coughlan and Coughlan |
| Justice Mona M. Lynch | Bridgewater | 2002 | Chrétien | Dept of Justice, Youth Crime NS Legal Aid Justice of Family Division NS Legal Aid |
| Justice Gregory M. Warner | Kentville | 2003 | Chrétien | Warner, Jacquard Pink Macdonald Harding Town of Yarmouth |
| Justice Kevin Coady | Halifax | 2003 | Chrétien | Coady Filiter |
| Justice N. M. Scaravelli | Pictou/Antigonish | 2006 | Harper | Macintosh MacDonnell & MacDonald Fitzgerald and Assoc. |
| Justice Glen G. McDougall | Halifax | 2001 | Chrétien | Sampson McDougall LLP |
Past Judges
| Name | Location | Duration | Appointed by | Prior position |
| Justice M. Heather Robertson | 1998 to 2021 | Jean Chrétien | Chief of Staff to the Premier of Nova Scotia Burchell, MacDougall Walker, Dunlop | |
| Chief Justice Joseph Phillip Kennedy | 1997 to 2019 | Jean Chrétien | Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia Chief Judge of Provincial Court Provincial Court Judge Kenney, Theakson, Kennedy & Allen | |
| Justice Felix A. Cacchione | 1986 to 2018 | Brian Mulroney | Private Practice Nova Scotia Legal Aid | |
| Justice Elizabeth Van den Eynden | 2013 to 2015 | Stephen Harper | MacIntosh, MacDonnell & MacDonald | |
| Justice Arthur W. D. Pickup | 2002 to 2016 | Jean Chrétien | LeBlanc, MacDonald & Pickup | |
| Justice Linda Lee Oland | 1998 to 2000 | Jean Chrétien | McInnes, Cooper & Robertson | |
| Justice Arthur Joseph LeBlanc | 1998 to 2017 | Jean Chrétien | ||
| Justice Joseph Michael MacDonald | 1995 to 2005 | Jean Chrétien | ||
| Justice Marlene Jill Hamilton | 1995 to 2001 | Jean Chrétien | ||
| Justice John Edward Flinn | 1995 to 2002 | Jean Chrétien | ||
| Justice J. Edward Scanlan | 1993 to 2015 | |||
| Justice Hiram Joseph Carver | 1993 to 2005 | |||
| Justice Nancy Jean Bateman | 1993 to 1995 | |||
| Justice Charles Edward Haliburton | January 1993 to 2013 | Brian Mulroney | Eric Kinsman, Member of Parliament | |
| Justice Ian Palmeter | 1993 to 1997 | County Court Judge | ||
| Justice Simon James MacDonald | 1993 to 2016 | Brian Mulroney | County Court Judge Crown attorney MacIntyre, MacDonald & Gillis federal Department of Justice | |
| Justice Donald MacKinnon Hall | 1993 to 2006 | County Court Judge | ||
| Justice Douglas Lawrence MacLennan | 1993 to unknown | |||
| Justice Norman Robert Anderson | 1993 to 1998 | |||
| Justice Hugh John MacDonnell | 1993 to 1995 | |||
| Justice Murray James Ryan | 1993 to 1994 | |||
| Justice Ronald Newton Pugsley | 1993 to 2000 | |||
| Justice Jamie William Sutherland Saunders | 1990 to 2015 | Brian Mulroney | ||
| Justice David William Gruchy | 1990 to 2007 | Brian Mulroney | ||
| Justice Walter Robert Evans Goodfellow | 1990 to 2009 | Brian Mulroney | ||
| Justice Allan Paul Boudreau | March 30, 1990 to 2007 2007 to October 31, 2016 | Brian Mulroney | Crawford, Boudreau & Khattar | |
| Justice Gerald B. Freeman | 1990 to 1993 | Brian Mulroney | County Court Judge | |
| Justice Elizabeth Ann MacKinnon Roscoe | 1989 to 1992 | Brian Mulroney | ||
| Justice David Ritchie Chipman | 1987 to 2000 | Brian Mulroney | ||
| Justice John McNab Davison | 1987 to 2008 | Brian Mulroney | ||
| Justice Gordon Alfred Tidman | 1985 to 2007 | Brian Mulroney | ||
| Justice Francis Bernard William Kelly | 1985 to 2009 | Brian Mulroney | ||
| Justice Kenneth McNeill Matthews | 1985 to 1997 | Brian Mulroney | ||
| Justice Robert Buckley MacDonald | 1985 to 1995 | Brian Mulroney | ||
| Justice Hilroy Selig Nathanson | 1982 to 2007 | |||
| Justice Daniel Merlin Nunn | 1982 to 2005 | |||
| Justice Lorne Otis Clarke | 1981 to 1997 | |||
| Justice Roderick MacLeod Rogers | 1981 to 1998 | |||
| Justice Peter M. Nicholson | Digby, Annapolis Royal | 1981 to 1986 | ||
| Justice Charles Denne Burchell | 1979 to 1989 | |||
| Justice Kenneth Peter Richard | 1978 to 2007 | |||
| Justice Leonard Lawson Pace | 1978 to 1990 | |||
| Justice Constance Rachlle Glube | 1977 to 1998 | |||
| Justice James Doane Hallett | 1977 to 1990 | |||
| Justice William Johnston Grant | 1977 to 1995 | |||
| Justice Angus Lewis Macdonald | 1973 to 1992 | |||
| Justice Alexander Murdoch Macintosh | 1973 to 1991 | |||
| Justice Ian Malcolm MacKeigan | 1973 to 1990 | |||
| Justice Vincent Alan James Morrison | 1973 to 1987 | |||
| Justice Malachi Cornelius Hubert Jones | 1970 to 1979 | |||
| Justice Gordon Leavitt Shaw Hart | 1968 to 1999 | |||
| Justice Donald Joseph Gillis | 1968 to 1973 | |||
| Justice Arthur Gordon Cooper | 1968 to 1983 | |||
| Justice Justin Louis Dubisky | 1967 to 1976 | |||
| Justice Gordon Stewart Cowan | 1966 to 1981 | |||
| Justice Alexander Hugh McKinnon | 1966 to 1973 | |||
| Justice Ronald Manning Fielding | 1965 to 1972 | |||
| Justice Vincent Joseph Pottier | 1965 to 1970 | |||
| Justice Thomas Herbert Coffin | 1961 to 1981 | |||
| Justice Frederick William Bissett | 1961 to 1977 | |||
| Justice Frank Harris Patterson | 1958 to 1965 | |||
| Justice Vincent Christopher MacDonald | 1950 to 1964 | |||
| Justice Lauchlin Daniel Currie | 1949 to 1968 | |||
| Justice James Lorimer Ilsley | 1949 to 1967 | |||
| Justice Eugene Troop Parker | 1948 to 1961 | |||
| Justice Josiah H. MacQuarrie | 1947 to 1968 | |||
| Justice John Stanley Smiley | 1938 to 1945 | |||
| Justice Joseph Andrew Chisholm | 1916 to 1950 | |||
| Justice Robert Edward Harris | 1915 to 1931 | |||
| Justice James Johnston Ritchie | 1912 to 1925 | |||
| Justice Wallace Nesbit Graham | 1889 to 1917 | |||
| Justice Charles James Townshend | 1887 to 1904 | |||
| Justice James McDonald | 1881 to 1904 | |||
| Justice Robert Linton Weatherbe | 1878 to 1907 | |||
| Justice John William Ritchie | 1873 to 1882 | |||
| Justice William Frederick DesBarres | 1848 to 1881 | |||
| Justice Arthur Drysdale | 1907 to 1922 | |||
| Justice Humphrey Mellish | 1918 to 1937 | |||
| Justice William Young | 1860 to 1881 | |||
| Justice Sampson Salter Blowers | 1797 to 1833 | |||
| Justice John Sparrow David Thompson | 1882 to 1885 | |||
| Justice Benjamin Russell | 1904 to 1935 | |||
| Justice James Wilberforce Longley | 1905 to 1922 | |||
| Justice Joseph Norman | 1885 to 1904 | |||
| Justice William F. Carroll | 1925 to 1949 | |||
| Justice Alexander James | 1877 to 1889 | |||
| Justice William Lorimer Hall | 1931 to 1958 | |||
| Justice Brenton Halliburton | 1807 to 1860 | |||
| Justice Lewis Morris Wilkins | 1856 to 1876 | |||
| Justice William Blowers Bliss | 1834 to 1869 | |||
| Justice Thomas Chandler Haliburton | 1841 to 1856 | |||
| Justice Peleg Wiswall | 1816 to 1836 | |||
| Justice Richard John Uniacke Jr. | 1830 to 1834 |
Judges of the Supreme Court Family Division
| Name | Location | Date of appointment | Prior position |
| Justice R. James Williams | Halifax | Walker, Dunlop Blois, Nickerson, Palmeter and Bryson | |
| Justice Moira C. Legere-Sers | Port Hawkesbury | NS Legal Aid Maritime Life Assurance Company Boyne Clarke | |
| Justice Deborah Gass | Halifax | Executive Director of the Penitentiary Legal Services Wright, Chivers & Co | |
| Justice Darryl W. Wilson | Sydney | Family Court Judge Crown Attorney Edwards & Wilson |
| Name | Location | Duration | Appointed By | Prior position |
| Justice Douglas C. Campbell | Halifax | 1999 - 2016 | Jean Chrétien | Cox Hansen O'Reilly Matheson |
| Justice J. Vernon MacDonald | Sydney | 1999 - 2005 | Jean Chrétien | Khattar & Khattar Nova Scotia Legal Aid Sole practitioner Family Court Judge |
| Justice M. Clare MacLellan | Sydney | 1999 – 2007 | Jean Chrétien | Nova Scotia Legal Aid Children's Aid Society Family Court Judge |