The Provincial Court of Nova Scotia is planning two robing ceremonies next month to celebrate judges appointed to that Court during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please note that attendance at these events is by invitation only; however, the ceremonies will be livestreamed on the Courts of Nova Scotia website.
The robing ceremony to honour Judge Shane Russell will be held in Sydney, Cape Breton, at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, June 3. A joint ceremony honouring Judge Perry Borden and Judge Christine Driscoll is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday, June 17, in Dartmouth.
The public and members of the media can watch the ceremonies on the Courts of Nova Scotia website. Archived video will be posted online following the events.
Members of the media are reminded that the judges will not be available for interviews.
As per the Nova Scotia Courts’ copyright policy, webcasts of court proceedings and special events may not be broadcast or re-broadcast by embedding them in another website or by any other means. However, portions of the webcasts (audio and video) may be re-broadcast as part of conventional news coverage. Hyperlinks to the live webcast page and the page of archived videos on the Courts website are permitted.
The Hon. Judge Perry Borden
Judge Perry Borden of Middle Sackville, N.S., graduated from the Schulich School of Law in 2002. He was called to the Bar on Nov. 7, 2003, and later received a Queen’s Counsel designation.
Judge Borden started his legal career as an associate lawyer in Halifax. In 2007, he joined the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service and by 2015, he had risen to the level of Senior Crown Attorney, a position he held until his appointment to the Provincial and Family Courts on July 9, 2020. At the time, he was also working as a part-time instructor with the Schulich School of Law.
As a lawyer, Judge Borden spent countless hours giving back to his community and helping improve access to justice and legal services for historically marginalized groups.
He served as a member of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society Racial Equity Committee, President of the Nova Scotia Crown Attorneys’ Association, and he volunteered regularly with the Nova Scotia Courts’ Justice Day Camp events for young African Nova Scotians.
The Hon. Judge Christine Driscoll
Judge Christine Driscoll of Halifax, N.S., is a graduate of the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University. She was called to the Bar in 1996. In 1998, she joined the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service, where she rose to the rank of Senior Crown Counsel. She received her Queen’s Counsel designation in 2019.
Judge Driscoll was appointed to the Provincial Court on Dec. 10, 2021. At the time of her appointment, she was also working as a part-time lecturer and mentor for the Criminal Clinic course and was a past co-instructor for the Criminal Trial Practice at the Schulich School of Law. She has also served as an instructor for the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society Bar Admission Course and was a member of the society’s Gender Equity
Committee.
The Hon. D. Judge Shane Russell
Judge Shane Russell of Sydney, N.S., graduated from the University of Manitoba Robson Hall Law School in 2003 and has a Bachelor of Science Advance Major Psychology from Dalhousie University.
He practiced law for 17 years, all of those as a Crown Attorney, and also served as co-counsel with the Desmond Fatality Inquiry until his appointment to the Provincial Court on Dec. 10, 2021.
Judge Russell is a Past President of the Cape Breton Barristers' Society and Past President of the Nova Scotia Crown Attorneys' Association. He served as a member of Bar Council, which is the governing body of the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society. He also served as a member of the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society's Gender Equity Committee and Provincial Court Liaison Committee.