Legal Feeds Blog

Monday, 25 June 2012 11:09

Feds fill Ontario Court of Appeal vacancy

Superior Court Justice Michael Tulloch will become the first black judge to sit on the Ontario Court of Appeal after the federal government named him to replace Justice Harry LaForme.

Tulloch, who sits on the Superior Court bench in Brampton, Ont., has been a judge since 2003 following a career in criminal law. As for LaForme, he becomes a supernumerary judge on June 30.

In addition, the federal government has appointed four lawyers to the bench at courts across the country.

In Saskatchewan, Neil Turcotte joins the family division of the Court of Queen’s Bench in Saskatoon. He replaces Justice R.S. Smith, who joined the general division on June 19. A lawyer with MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman LLP since 1999, Turcotte practised mainly in the areas of wills, estates, and civil litigation with expertise in family law.

In Ontario, the federal government has named Edward Morgan to the Superior Court bench in Toronto. He takes the place of Justice Arthur Gans, who became a supernumerary judge on April 1. Morgan, a full professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law since 2008, previously practised with Davies Ward & Beck. His main areas of practice were commercial and constitutional litigation as well as private international and human rights law.

In New Brunswick, Stewart McKelvey is losing Tracey DeWare to the Court of Queen’s Bench in Campbellton. She replaces Justice G.J. Young, who became a supernumerary judge on Feb. 25. DeWare had been with Stewart McKelvey since 2005 and began her law career in 1994.

At the Federal Court, Department of Justice lawyer Catherine Kane replaces Justice S.J. Simpson, who became a supernumerary judge on June 10. Kane had been counsel with the department since 1982. Her roles have included senior general counsel in the criminal law policy section.