Effective March 23, two new judges will be appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice
The Province of Ontario has appointed two new judges to the Ontario Court of Justice—the largest court in the country, with over 150 locations province-wide.
Justice Kimberley Ann Crosbie was assigned by Chief Justice Lise Maisonneuve to preside in Toronto. Justice Crosbie was called to the bar in 2002 and served 14 years as Crown Counsel where she pursued criminal law.
More recently, she was selected as Ontario’s lead Crown in education and training for prosecuting sexual offences, and was also chair of the Ministry of the Attorney General’s Sexual Violence Advisory Group. In addition to these ventures, she has taught law courses at Osgoode Hall Law School since 2009.
Justice John N. Olver was called to the bar in 1992. Justice Olver has been practising criminal law and serving as a managing partner at Scott and Olver LLP since 2005. Previously, he worked as managing partner at Scott, Kimball, Olver Law Firm.
As a dedicated community member, Olver sat on the Board of Directors for Community Living Oshawa/Clarington and has taught criminal law courses at both Durham College and the University of Guelph. Chief Justice Maisonneuve has assigned Justice Olver to preside in Oshawa.
The new appointments are effective March 23, 2016. Only one-month-earlier, another appointment was made to the Ontario Court of Justice. Justice Peter Kevin Doody has been assigned by Chief Justice Maisonneuve to preside in Ottawa, effective Feb. 24, 2016.
The new appointees will be responsible for weighing evidence and have the final decision in criminal, youth, and family trials, as well as the occasional provincial offences matter.
Vacancies on the bench are advertised in the Ontario Reports as they become available. According to the Ontario Courts website, in order to qualify for an appointment, applicants must have “at least 10 years membership at the Bar in one of the provinces or territories of Canada. Applicants must have a sound knowledge of the law, an understanding of the social issues of the day, and an appreciation for the cultural diversity of Ontario.”
Applicants must submit 14 copies of the application form to be reviewed by the Judicial Appointment Advisory Committee. A short list is created and the committee meets to select candidates from the list for interviews. After interviews, the attorney general is required to make an appointment from a ranked list of candidates.
This method of appointment was originally promoted by Attorney General Ian Scott as a pilot project in 1988. As a result, the Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee was born, and the development of sound and effective criteria to ensure the right candidate was selected for each open position was introduced. After much success, the Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee was officially established in 1995.