- Nova Scotia Supreme Court
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The Nova Scotia Supreme Court is a superior court in the province of Nova Scotia.
The Court comprises the Chief Justice (who is also the Chief Justice of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal), the Associate Chief justice, twenty-one judges and six supernumerary (or semiretired) Justices, who sit in 18 different locations around the province.
Contents
Jurisdiction
As with all superior courts across the country, the court is said to have inherent jurisdiction. It hears civil and criminal trials. The criminal trials can be judge alone or judge and jury. It is the only court that can hear indictable offences. The court will also hear appeals from the provincial court, small claims court, Family court, and various provincial tribunals.
Appeals 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.
Judges of the Supreme Court
Position Name Location Chief Justice Joseph Phillip Kennedy Associate Chief Justice Deborah K. Smith Justice Allan Boudreau Halifax Justice Cindy A. Bourgeois Sydney Justice Felix A. Cacchione Halifax Justice Kevin Coady Halifax Justice C. Richard Coughlan Halifax Justice Patrick J. Duncan Halifax Justice Frank C. Edwards Sydney Justice Charles E. Haliburton Digby/Annapolis Justice Suzanne M. Hood Halifax Justice Arthur J. LeBlanc Halifax Justice A. David MacAdam Halifax Justice Simon J. MacDonald Sydney Justice Douglas L. MacLellan Pictou/Antigonish Justice Glen G. McDougall Halifax Justice Gerald R.P. Moir Halifax Justice John D. Murphy Halifax Justice Arthur W. D. Pickup Halifax Justice M. Heather Robertson Halifax Justice J. Edward (Ted) Scanlan Truro/Amhert Justice N.M. (Nick) Scaravelli Pictou/Antigonish Justice Margaret Stewart Bridgewater Justice Gregory M. Warner Kentville Justice Robert W. Wright Halifax Judges of the Supreme Court Family Division
Position Name Location Associate Chief Justice Lawrence I. O'Neil Justice Douglas C. Campbell Halifax Justice Leslie J. Dellapinna Halifax Justice Theresa M. Forgeron Sydney Justice Deborah Gass Halifax Justice Kenneth Haley Sydney Justice Elizabeth Jollimore Halifax Justice Moira C. Legere-Sers Halifax Justice Mona Lynch Halifax Justice Beryl A. MacDonald Halifax Justice M. Clare MacLellan Sydney Justice Robert Ferguson Halifax Justice R. James Williams Halifax Justice Darryl W. Wilson Sydney External links
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