Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba
The Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba (in French: Cour du Banc de la Reine du Manitoba) is the superior court of the Canadian province of Manitoba. The court is divided into the Family Division and the General Division.
The Family Division deals with family law cases including divorces, guardianships, adoptions and child welfare.
The General Division deals with all other matters, including civil trials, probate law, indictable offences and applications for the review of decisions from certain administrative tribunals.
History of the Court
In May 1871 the legislature of Manitoba enacted The Supreme Court Act to establish a superior court with original and appellate jurisdiction in the province. The law provided:
There shall be constituted a Court of Justice for the Province of Manitoba, to be styled "The SupremeCourt," which shall have jurisdiction over ail matters of Law and Equity, ail matters of wills and intestacy, and shall possess such powers and authorities in relation to matters of Local or Provincial jurisdiction,
as in England are distributed among the Superior Courts of Law and Equity, and of Probate.
The Act also established inferior courts known as Petty Sessions.
In 1872, The Supreme Court Act was amended by the Manitoba legislature to change the name of the court to "The Court of Queen's Bench". The first Chief Justice was appointed in July 1872. In the same year, the Petty Sessions were abolished and County Courts were established.
The appellate jurisdiction of the Court of Queen's Bench was transferred to the Manitoba Court of Appeal, which was established in 1906. In 1984, the County Courts were merged with the Court of Queen's Bench, and the judges of the County Courts became Court of Queen's Bench judges. Further, in 1984 the Family Division of the Court of Queen’s Bench was established.
Current Justices
Name | Appointed | Division |
---|---|---|
Chief Justice Glenn D. Joyal | June 22, 2007 | General |
Associate Chief Justice William J. Burnett | General | |
Associate Chief Justice A. Lori Douglas | May 19, 2005 | Family |
Mr. Justice Robert Carr | October 13, 1983 | Family |
Mr. Justice Gil R. Goodman | July 16, 2002 | Family |
Mr. Justice Kenneth R. Hanssen | March 23, 1984 | General |
Mr. Justice Daniel P. Kennedy | June 21, 1984 | General |
Mr. Justice Rodney H. Mykle | September 15, 1989 | General |
Madam Justice Robyn M. Diamond | September 15, 1989 | Family |
Mr. Justice A. Clearwater | March 12, 1992 | General |
Madam Justice Leá A. Duval | November 27, 1992 | General |
Madam Justice Holly C. Beard | November 27, 1992 | General |
Mr. Justice Nathan Nurgitz | February 10, 1993 | General |
Mr. Justice Kris Stefanson | May 28, 1993 | Family |
Mr. Justice Perry Schulman | May 28, 1993 | General |
Madam Justice Sylvia Guertin-Riley | July 26, 1995 | Family |
Madam Justice Brenda L. Keyser | October 3, 1995 | General |
Mr. Justice John A. Menzies | August 7, 1996 | General |
Madam Justice Deborah J. McCawley | September 17, 1997 | General |
Mr. Justice Donald M. Little | February 10, 1998 | Family |
Mr. Justice Morris Kaufman | October 6, 1998 | General |
Madam Justice Laurie P. Allen | October 6, 1998 | Family |
Mr. Justice Douglas D. Yard | October 6, 1998 | Family |
Mr. Justice Donald P. Bryk | February 16, 1999 | General |
Mr. Justice Frank Aquila | February 28, 2000 | Family |
Mr. Justice Robert B. Doyle | February 28, 2000 | Family |
Mr. Justice C. Murray Sinclair | January 31, 2001 | General |
Madam Justice Joan G. McKelvey | September 27, 2001 | General |
Mr. Justice John Scurfield | July 16, 2002 | General |
Madam Justice Colleen Suche | July 16, 2002 | General |
Madam Justice Marilyn E. Goldberg | July 16, 2002 | Family |
Madam Justice Shawn D. Greenberg | October 28, 2003 | General |
Madam Justice Karen I. Simonsen | December 9, 2004 | General |
Madam Justice Marianne Rivoalen | February 2, 2005 | Family |
Madam Justice Lori T. Spivak | May 19, 2005 | General |
Madam Justice A. Catherine Everett | November 22, 2006 | Family |
Mr. Justice Michael A. Thomson | June 1, 2007 | Family |
Mr. Justice Douglas N. Abra | June 22, 2007 | General |
Mr. Justice Brian Midwinter | June 19, 2008 | General |
Mr. Justice James G. Edmond | October 1, 2013 | General |
Mr. Justice Victor E. Toews | March 7, 2014 | General |
Under the federal Judges Act, federally appointed judges (such as those on the Manitoba Court of Appeal) may, after being in judicial office for at least 15 years and whose combined age and number of years of judicial service is not less than 80 or after the age of 70 years and at least 10 years judicial service, elect to give up their regular judicial duties and hold office as a supernumerary judge.
The following justices have elected supernumerary status:
- Mr. Justice Carr (December 14, 2006)
- Mr. Justice Goodman (December 14, 2006)
- Mr. Justice Kennedy (December 21, 2004)
- Mr. Justice Clearwater (July 10, 2007)
- Mr. Justice Nurgitz (June 22, 2004)
- Madam Justice Guertin-Riley (September 16, 2006)
Past Justices
- Gordon J. Barkman[1]
- Alexander Morris
- James Charles McKeagney
- Louis Betourney
- Edmund Burke Wood
- Joseph Dubuc (Chief Justice of Manitoba from August 8, 1903 until 1909)
- James Andrews Miller
- Lewis Wallbridge
- Thomas Wardlaw Taylor
- Robert Smith
- Albert Clements Killam
- John Farquhar Bain
- Albert Elswood Richards
- William Edgerton Perdue
- Thomas Graham Mathers
- Daniel Alexander Macdonald
- John Donald Cameron
- Thomas Llewellyn Metcalfe
- James Emile Pierre Prendergast
- Hugh Amos Robson
- Alexander Casmir Galt
- John Philpot Curran
- Andrew Knox Dysart
- John Evans Adamson
- James Frederick Kilgour
- William James Donovan
- Percival John Montague
- Fawcett Gowler Taylor
- Ewan Alexander McPherson
- William James Major
- Esten Kenneth Williams
- Arnold Munroe Campbell
- Joseph Thomas Beaubien
- John Joseph Kelly
- Robert George Brian Dickson
- John Alton Duncan
- Richard J. Scott (currently serving as Chief Justice of the Manitoba Court of Appeal)
- Michel A. Monnin (currently serving as a judge on the Manitoba Court of Appeal)
- Freda M. Steel (currently serving as a judge on the Manitoba Court of Appeal)
- Barbara M. Hamilton (currently serving as a judge on the Manitoba Court of Appeal)
- Alan D. MacInnes (currently serving as a judge on the Manitoba Court of Appeal)
Further reading
- Dale Brawn, "The Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba 1870-1950: A Biographical History" (Toronto: Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, 2006)
- Sharon Gail McCullough, "Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench in Equity, 1872-1895: A Study in Legal Administration and Records" (Winnipeg, University of Manitoba, 2000)
- Russell Smandych and Karina Sacca, "The Development of Criminal Law Courts in Pre-1870 Manitoba" (1996) 24 Man. L. J. 201
External links
- Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba website
- Publicly accessible court registry system
- Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba decisions database
Notes
- ↑ "Hansard - Members' Statements". Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. May 22, 2001. Retrieved 14 Dec 2010.
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