Nova Scotia Supreme Court

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.

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

• Supreme Court of Nova Scotia Official Website