Court of Appeal of Alberta | |
---|---|
Established | 1921 |
Jurisdiction | Alberta, Canada |
Location | Law Courts, Edmonton; Calgary Courts Centre, Calgary |
Authorized by |
|
Number of positions | 14 (in addition to chief justice of Alberta, supernumerary judges, and the judges of the Court of King's Bench of Alberta, who are ex officio members of the Court of Appeal) |
Website | albertacourts |
Chief justice | |
Currently | Ritu Khullar |
The Court of Appeal of Alberta (frequently referred to as Alberta Court of Appeal or ABCA) is a Canadian appellate court that serves as the highest appellate court in the jurisdiction of Alberta, subordinate to the Supreme Court of Canada.
The court is the highest in Alberta, Canada. It hears appeals from the Alberta Court of King's Bench, the Provincial Court of Alberta, and administrative boards and tribunals, as well as references from the Lieutenant Governor in Council (essentially the Alberta Cabinet). Some administrative appeals may bypass the Court of King's Bench, commonly orders made by professional discipline boards under the Medical Profession Act, [1] the Legal Profession Act, [2] but also under the Energy Resources Conservation Act. [3]
Appeals from the Court of Appeal lie with the Supreme Court of Canada, Canada's court of last resort. Other than certain criminal matters, appeals to the Supreme Court of Canada are heard only by leave of that court. Since the Supreme Court denies leave in most cases, the Court of Appeal is the final court for most matters originating in Alberta.
Unlike the Court of King's Bench, the Court of Appeal has no inherent jurisdiction and therefore requires a statute to grant it the power to hear a matter before a panel is convened. As a court of a province, it is administered by the provincial government. Hearings are held exclusively in Edmonton's Law Courts and the Calgary Courts Centre. Unlike other provinces (except Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario), the Alberta Court of Appeal displays a different coat of arms than its lower courts: the coat of arms of Canada.
The court originated from the old Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories which was replaced by the Supreme Court of Alberta in 1907 (shortly after Alberta became a province in 1905). The new Supreme Court of Alberta comprised a trial division and an appellate division (essentially, brother justices of the Supreme Court sitting en banc with a quorum of three).
The second chief justice of Alberta, Horace Harvey, supported an independent appellate court designed only to hear appeals. The Judicature Act enacted these changes in 1919, and it was proclaimed in 1921. [4] It was not until 1979 that the court changed its name to the "Court of Appeal of Alberta" through the Court of Appeal Act, [5] at the same time that the Supreme Court Trial Division and the District Court were amalgamated and renamed the "Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta".
There are 14 official positions on the bench [6] including the chief justice of Alberta, who is the highest judicial officer in the province. At any given time there may be several additional judges who also sit as supernumerary justices. [6] As a Section 96 court, the justices are appointed by the federal government and may hold office until the age of 75. Some of the justices have elected supernumerary (part-time or semi-retired) status. Occasionally, justices of the Court of King's Bench of Alberta sit on appeals. This is done at the request of a justice of the Court of Appeal. When this happens, these justices are sitting ex officio, but they have the same powers and duties as other justices of the Court of Appeal.
Most cases are heard by a panel of three justices, although the chief justice may convene a larger panel in exceptional circumstances. A single justice presides over matters heard in chambers, usually interlocutory matters or applications for leave to appeal.
Justices of the Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories are selected from the justices of the Court of Appeal of Alberta, Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan, and the judges and ex officio judges of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories. The current acting chief justice of Alberta, Frans Slater, is also the chief justice of the Northwest Territories. Hearings are held in Yellowknife, but may be heard anywhere in the territories or in Alberta. [7]
Name | Sitting in | Appointed | Nominated by | Position prior to appointment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Chief Justice Ritu Khullar | Edmonton | 2018 2022 (CJ) | J. Trudeau | Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta |
Justice Frans F. Slatter [8] [9] [10] | Edmonton | 2006 | Harper | Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta McCuaig Desrochers LLP |
Justice Dawn Pentelechuk | Edmonton | 2018 | J. Trudeau | Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta |
Justice Jolaine Antonio | Calgary | 2018 | J. Trudeau | Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta |
Justice Kevin Feehan | Edmonton | 2019 | J. Trudeau | Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta |
Justice Bernette Ho | Calgary | 2021 | J. Trudeau | Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta |
Justice Anne Kirker | Calgary | 2021 | J. Trudeau | Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta |
Justice William deWit | Calgary | 2023 | J. Trudeau | Court of King's Bench of Alberta |
Justice Jane Fagnan | Edmonton | 2023 | J. Trudeau | Court of King's Bench of Alberta |
Justice April Grosse | Calgary | 2023 | J. Trudeau | Court of King's Bench of Alberta |
Justice Alice Woolley | Calgary | 2023 | J. Trudeau | Court of King's Bench of Alberta |
Justice Kevin Feth | Edmonton | 2023 | J. Trudeau | Court of King's Bench of Alberta |
Justice Tamara Friesen | Edmonton | 2024 | J. Trudeau | Court of King's Bench of Alberta |
Justice Joshua Hawkes | Calgary | 2024 | J. Trudeau | Alberta Court of Justice |
Justice Karan Shaner | Edmonton | 2024 | J. Trudeau | Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories |
Name | Stationed in | Appointed | Nominated by | Position prior to appointment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Justice Jack Watson [11] [12] (Supernumerary) | Edmonton | 2006 | Harper | Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta |
Justice Thomas W. Wakeling (Supernumerary) | Edmonton | 2014 | Harper | Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta Fraser Milner Casgrain (1983 to 2013) |
Justice Michelle Crighton (Supernumerary) | Edmonton | 2016 | J. Trudeau | Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta |
Justice Jo'Anne Strekaf (Supernumerary) | Calgary | 2016 | J. Trudeau | Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta |
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts. The Supreme Court is bijural, hearing cases from two major legal traditions and bilingual, hearing cases in both official languages of Canada.
In law, an en banc session is when all the judges of a court sit to hear a case, not just one judge or a smaller panel of judges. For courts like the United States Courts of Appeals in which each case is heard by a three-judge panel instead of the entire court, en banc review is usually used only for unusually complex or important cases or when the court believes there is an especially significant issue at stake. En banc is a French phrase meaning "in bench".
Bora Laskin was a Canadian jurist who served as the 14th chief justice of Canada from 1973 to 1984 and as a puisne justice of the Supreme Court from 1970 to 1973. Before his Supreme Court service, he previously served on the Ontario Court of Appeal from 1965 to 1970. Prior to his appointment, Laskin worked as a lawyer and in academia.
The Court of Appeal for Nova Scotia is the highest appeal court in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. There are currently 8 judicial seats including one assigned to the Chief Justice of Nova Scotia. At any given time there may be one or more additional justices who sit as supernumerary justices. The court sits in Halifax, which is the capital of Nova Scotia. Cases are heard by a panel of three judges. They publish approximately 80 cases each year.
John Wesley "Buzz" McClung was a historian, lawyer, jurist, and a judge of the Alberta Court of Appeal.
The Supreme Court of Missouri is the highest court in the state of Missouri. It was established in 1820 and is located at 207 West High Street in Jefferson City, Missouri. Missouri voters have approved changes in the state's constitution to give the Supreme Court exclusive jurisdiction – the sole legal power to hear – over five types of cases on appeal. Pursuant to Article V, Section 3 of the Missouri Constitution, these cases involve:
The Court of Appeal of New Zealand is the principal intermediate appellate court of New Zealand. It is also the final appellate court for a number of matters. In practice, most appeals are resolved at this intermediate appellate level, rather than in the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal has existed as a separate court since 1862 but, until 1957, it was composed of judges of the High Court sitting periodically in panels. In 1957 the Court of Appeal was reconstituted as a permanent court separate from the High Court. It is located in Wellington.
The Court of King's Bench of Alberta is the superior trial court of the Canadian province of Alberta. During the reign of Elizabeth II, it was named Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta.
The Court of Appeal of New Brunswick is the appellate court in the province of New Brunswick. There are five Justices, one Chief Justice, any former judge of the Court of Appeal who is a supernumerary judge and any former Chief Justice of New Brunswick who is a judge or a supernumerary judge. The court sits in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Cases are heard by a panel of three judges.
The Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan (SKCA) is a Canadian appellate court.
The College of Law at the University of Saskatchewan is the university's law school. Located in Saskatoon in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, the College of Law was established in 1912 and is the oldest law school in Western Canada, a distinction it shares with the University of Alberta.
The Honourable Allan H.J. Wachowich is the former Chief Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta.
Jonathan Brian Denis, is a Canadian politician and lawyer. On May 9, 2012, he was named Solicitor General, Attorney General, and Minister of Justice for the province of Alberta. He represented the constituency of Calgary-Acadia as a Progressive Conservative in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 2008 until 2015.
Alexander Andrew McGillivray was a lawyer and provincial level politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Calgary from 1926 to 1930. He served as leader of the Alberta Conservative party from 1925 to 1929.
Horace Harvey was a lawyer, jurist, and a Chief Justice of Alberta, Canada.
William Alexander McGillivray was a lawyer, jurist, and a Chief Justice of Alberta, Canada.
Frederick Lee Morton, known commonly as Ted Morton, is an American-Canadian politician and former cabinet minister in the Alberta government. As a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, he represented the constituency of Foothills-Rocky View as a Progressive Conservative from 2004 to 2012. He did not win reelection in the 2012 Alberta general election. Morton was a candidate for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Association in its 2006 and 2011 leadership elections. Morton is currently Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Calgary.
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Sheilah L. Martin is a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, having served in that role since 2017. She was nominated to the court by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on November 29, 2017. Before her appointment to Canada's highest court, Martin had served on the Court of Appeal of Alberta, the Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories, and the Court of Appeal of Nunavut since 2016, and the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta from 2005 to 2016.
Brendan Myers Miller is a Canadian criminal and civil litigation lawyer based in Calgary.
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