Nicholas Devlin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Justice of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench | |
| Assumed office May 22, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Jolaine Antonio |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 30,1971 Calgary,Alberta |
| Alma mater | University of Calgary (BA,LLB) University of Toronto (LLM) |
| Occupation | judge |
Nicholas Devlin (born September 30,1971) is a Canadian jurist and former federal prosecutor. He is currently a Justice of the Court of King's Bench of Alberta. [1]
Nicholas Edward Devlin was born on September 30,1971 in Calgary,Alberta. [2]
He attended the University of Calgary where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Canadian Studies in 1993 and his Bachelor of Law,graduating as his class’s gold medalist in 1996. He went on to complete his Master of Law in 1998 at the University of Toronto where he wrote his thesis on the Charter of Freedom and Rights and freedom of the press. [2] [3]
After university,Devlin clerked for Justice Jack Major of the Supreme Court of Canada and was called to the Ontario bar in 1999. [1] He then worked at the litigation department of Torys for one year before spending time as a Fox Scholar at Middle Temple in London.
From 2001 till his appointment as a judge,Devlin served as a federal prosecutor and Senior General Counsel with Public Prosecution Service of Canada,during which he regularly appeared on behalf of the crown in front of the Supreme Court of Canada. [4] There he argued prominent cases like R v. Topp,Mills v. R,R v. Marakah and R v. Taylor. [5] [6] [7] [8]
Devlin was also the prosecutor on a prominent appeal in front of the Nunavut Court of Appeal involving Catholic priest Eric Dejaeger in a sexual abuse case. [9]
Devlin served as adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School from 2013 to 2017. He has taught trial advocacy techniques and cross examination methods. [2]
On May 22,2019,David Lametti,Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada,announced Devlin’s appointment as a Justice of the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta and a Judge ex officio of the Court of Appeal of Alberta. [4]
In 2021,Devlin ruled on a case involving a Calgary woman suing the Calgary Police Service for negligence in handling her sexual assault complaint. He determined that the police owed a duty of care to individuals reporting crimes,allowing the lawsuit to proceed. The decision was regarded as a significant precedent for accountability in police conduct. [10]
Further that year,Devlin ruled that no jurors will be allowed to serve in an upcoming sexual assault trial unless they confirm they have been vaccinated for Covid-19,which sparked controversy. [11]
In March 2024,Devlin was the judge that overlooked the defamation suit initiated by Quebec based DJ SNAILS,where he awarded the plaintiff $1.5 million in damages. [12] [13]
In January 2025 as part of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories,Devlin ordered the release of $120,000 in frozen funds to the former CEO of Łutsël K'éDene First Nation’s business arm Denesoline Coproration,Ron Barlas,as funds for legal defence. [14]
Louise Arbour, is a Canadian lawyer, prosecutor and jurist.
The Canadian Oath of Allegiance is a promise or declaration of fealty to the Canadian monarch—as personification of the Canadian state and its authority, rather than as an individual person—taken, along with other specific oaths of office, by new occupants of various federal and provincial government offices; members of federal, provincial, and municipal police forces; members of the Canadian Armed Forces; and, in some provinces, all lawyers upon admission to the bar. The Oath of Allegiance also makes up the first portion of the Oath of Citizenship, the taking of which is a requirement of obtaining Canadian nationality.
The Court of Appeal for Ontario is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto.
Ezra Isaac Levant is a Canadian media personality, political activist, writer, broadcaster, and former lawyer. Levant is the founder and former publisher of the conservative magazine, The Western Standard. He is also the co-founder, owner, and CEO of the far-right media website Rebel News. Levant has also worked as a columnist for Sun Media, and he hosted a daily program on the Sun News Network from the channel's inception in 2011 until its demise in 2015.
John Charles Major is a Canadian jurist and was a puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada from 1992 to 2005.
The Oath of Citizenship, or Citizenship Oath, is a statement recited and signed by those who apply to become citizens of Canada. Administered at a ceremony presided over by a designated official, the oath is a promise or declaration of fealty to the Canadian monarch and a promise to abide by Canada's laws and uphold the duties of a Canadian citizen; upon signing the oath, citizenship is granted to the applicant.
Arthur Kent is a Canadian television journalist and author. He rose to international prominence during the 1991 Persian Gulf War during which he acquired the nickname "The Scud Stud". He is the brother of Canada's former Minister of the Environment Peter Kent.
J. E. Michel Bastarache is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and retired puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada.
Marianne Rivoalen is the Chief Justice of Manitoba. She was appointed on June 1, 2023. She is the first woman to head the Manitoba judiciary.
Catherine Anne Fraser is a Canadian lawyer and judge who was the chief justice of Alberta from 1992 until July 30, 2022. As chief justice of Alberta, Fraser was also chief justice of the Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories and the Nunavut Court of Appeal.
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.
The Honourable Eugene Joseph Creighton is a member of the Blood Tribe, or Kainaiawa, which is an integral part of the Blackfoot Confederacy.
The Court of Appeal of Alberta 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 Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) is a Canadian legal advocacy organization specializing in a social conservative approach to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The libertarian organisation has partnered with several right-wing backers in the United States.
Women work in the legal profession and related occupations throughout Canada, as lawyers, prosecutors, judges, legal scholars, law professors and law school deans. In Canada, while 37.1% of lawyers are women, "50% ...said they felt their [law] firms were doing "poorly" or "very poorly" in their provision of flexible work arrangements". It was also reported that, in 2006 in Ontario, "racialized women accounted for 16% of all lawyers under 30" and that only 1% of lawyers were Aboriginal.
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.
James Walden is an American lawyer. After serving in the U.S. Department of Justice as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York from 1993 to 2002, he entered private practice where he was involved in several prominent white-collar and antitrust cases in addition to a series of cases seeking governmental reform. He represents Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of Russia's anti-doping laboratory. At one time Walden represented former UFC Lightweight champion Conor McGregor in McGregor's pending court case for felony criminal mischief and misdemeanor assault in Brooklyn, NY. Walden has represented plaintiffs in class action lawsuits suits against the New York City Department of Education and the New York City Housing Authority. He served as Special Counsel to a task force created by the Governor of New Jersey to investigate the administration of the state's tax incentive programs. Walden is now running as an independent candidate for the 2025 New York City Mayoral Election.
Ellen Irene Picard is a Canadian former law professor and judge. In 2017, she was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in recognition of her contributions as a legal scholar.
Brendan Myers Miller is a Canadian criminal and civil litigation lawyer based in Calgary.
Jolaine Antonio is a Canadian jurist and former crown prosecutor. She is currently a justice of the Alberta Court of Appeal.