Close X
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
ADVT 
National

Alberta Appeal Court Judge Russell Brown Named To Supreme Court Of Canada

The Canadian Press, 28 Jul, 2015 11:46 AM
    OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper has named Alberta Court of Appeal Justice Russell Brown as his latest appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada.
     
    Brown, a former barrister and law professor, is taking over for the retiring Justice Marshall Rothstein, whose departure takes effect as of Aug. 31, Harper said Monday in a statement.
     
    "Mr. Justice Brown brings to the court wide experience as a law professor and legal scholar, a barrister, and a judge at both the trial court and appellate levels," Harper said. 
     
    "His appointment is the result of broad consultations with prominent members of the legal community and we are confident he will be a strong addition to Canada's highest court."
     
    A member of the bars of both British Columbia and Alberta, Brown currently sits in Edmonton, where he also serves as an appeal judge for both the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
     
    He has also served as a member of the Court of Queen's Bench.
     
    Brown will be the second member of the high court from western Canada, the other being Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin.
     
    Brown holds a bachelor's degree from the University of British Columbia and law degrees from the University of Toronto and the University of Toronto. He also served as an associate professor and associate dean of the University of Alberta's faculty of law.
     
    He has also practised law in Edmonton, Victoria and Vancouver.
     
    Brown's predecessor, who was appointed by Harper in March 2006, announced his retirement in April. The Judges Act provides that for six months after retirement, he can continue to participate in judgments of cases heard before his departure.
     
    Rothstein was Harper's first appointment to the highest court, shortly after the Conservative government took office.
     
    Harper has appointed all but two of the nine judges on the court.
     
    His last appointment, high-profile commercial trial lawyer Suzanne Cote, came last November and ended more than a year of unprecedented, roiling controversy over the composition of the high court.
     
    It was triggered earlier in the year when Harper's proposed choice of Justice Marc Nadon for a vacant Quebec seat was challenged and ultimately rejected on constitutional grounds by the Supreme Court itself.
     
    Cote replaced Justice Louis LeBel as the third of three mandatory Quebec justices on the bench.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    RCMP Say Latest Surrey Shooting Appears Connected To Spate Of Violence

    RCMP Say Latest Surrey Shooting Appears Connected To Spate Of Violence
    Investigators shut down the entire scene, around 72nd Avenue and 120th Street, as they searched the restaurant for evidence and interviewed witnesses. No one was taken into custody.

    RCMP Say Latest Surrey Shooting Appears Connected To Spate Of Violence

    Son Charged With Mother's Murder After Body Found In Richmond: RCMP

    Son Charged With Mother's Murder After Body Found In Richmond: RCMP
    RICHMOND, B.C. — Homicide investigators say a man accused of killing his mother in a Richmond, B.C., home has been found in Vancouver.

    Son Charged With Mother's Murder After Body Found In Richmond: RCMP

    'Closing Some Vancouver Schools Will Save Board Millions Of Dollars'

    Peter Fassbender ordered a review of the school board's finances and says it found $72 million worth of potential annual savings and one-time savings of $750 million.

    'Closing Some Vancouver Schools Will Save Board Millions Of Dollars'

    National Energy Board Chair To Make Safety Inspection Reports Public

    National Energy Board Chair To Make Safety Inspection Reports Public
    VANCOUVER — The chairman of the National Energy Board is vowing to make pipeline inspection reports public in his latest effort to make the embattled regulator more transparent.

    National Energy Board Chair To Make Safety Inspection Reports Public

    Victoria Mayor's Message To Tourists: Parks Used By Homeless Aren't For Camping

    Victoria Mayor's Message To Tourists: Parks Used By Homeless Aren't For Camping
    A city bylaw permits people to sleep in parks at night, but they must leave by 7 a.m. 

    Victoria Mayor's Message To Tourists: Parks Used By Homeless Aren't For Camping

    Teenage Girl Hurt After Jumping From Cliff Into Chilly Lynn Creek In North Vancouver

    Teenage Girl Hurt After Jumping From Cliff Into Chilly Lynn Creek In North Vancouver
    Rescue crews say a teenage girl has back injuries after leaping from a nearly nine-metre ledge at a recreational cliff-jumping area in North Vancouver.

    Teenage Girl Hurt After Jumping From Cliff Into Chilly Lynn Creek In North Vancouver