the SOCIETY RECORD - Nova Scotia Barristers' Society

BRIEFS
Changing faces and changing places in the Nova Scotia judiciary
Photos provided by John Piccolo/ The Nova Scotia Judiciary
(Left) On December 7 at the Yarmouth Justice Centre, the Hon. Judge Timothy D. Landry (at right) was sworn in as a judge of the
Provincial and Family Courts of Nova Scotia. He is seen here with the Hon. Michael MacDonald (centre), Chief Justice of Nova Scotia
and of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, and the Hon. Patrick Curran (at left), former Chief Judge of the Provincial and Family Courts
of Nova Scotia. (Right) The Honourable Pamela S. Williams, new Chief Judge of the Nova Scotia Provincial and Family Courts.
The Honourable Pamela S. Williams recently
became the first woman to be appointed Chief Judge of the Nova
Scotia Provincial and Family Courts. In February, she replaced
the Hon. Judge Patrick Curran, who continues sitting as a fulltime
judge in both courts.
A chief judge can only serve two consecutive five-year terms. A
judge for more than 30 years, Judge Curran had been Chief of the
Provincial Court for the past decade and Chief of the Provincial
and Family Courts since 2011.
Called to the Nova Scotia Bar in 1985, Chief Judge Williams
spent 18 years as a lawyer with Nova Scotia Legal Aid and was
appointed as a provincial court judge in 2003. She served as
Associate Chief Judge of the Provincial Court since 2011, and
had also recently been presiding at the Mental Health Court in
Dartmouth.
“Judge Williams has the knowledge, the skills and the wisdom
to be an exceptional chief judge and I congratulate her on her
new role,” Justice Minister Ross Landry said on Feb. 27, while
announcing the appointment. “I’d like to thank Chief Judge
Curran for his passion and commitment to the administration
of justice. I am pleased that our justice system will continue to
benefit from his experience.”
In addition to hearing cases, the Chief Judge schedules court
sittings, assigns judicial duties and is responsible for the
administration of the judicial functions of the provincial and
family courts.
Retirements
On January 31, the Hon. Justice Charles E. Haliburton retired
from the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. Prior to his appointment
to the bench in 1986, he maintained a general legal practice in
Digby, served as a Crown attorney and Federal Crown, and also
served as Mayor of Digby,
The Hon. Robert F. Ferguson, Justice of the Nova Scotia Supreme
Court Family Division, retired on his 75 th birthday on October
6, a month shy of 41 years after he was first appointed to the
bench, which made him the province’s longest-serving judge on
the current judiciary.
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