Three new judges appointed in Nova Scotia

Three new judges have been appointed in Nova Scotia.

Justice Anne Derrick, a provincial and family courts judge, is now the eighth full-time Court of Appeal judge in the province effective immediately.

"NovaScotiansare very lucky to have someone with her tremendous knowledge and expertise on the bench," saidChief Justice MichaelMacDonaldin a news release.

Derrick graduated from Dalhousie Law School in 1980 and was first appointed as a judge of the provincial and family courts in 2005.

She also conducted a two-year fatality inquiry into the death of Howard Hyde, a mentally ill Nova Scotia man who died while in police custody in 2007.

Her 462-page report had more than80 recommendations for the criminal justice and mental health care systems.

Cindy Murray, managing lawyer of the Antigonish Legal Aid Office, and Christa Brothers, a partner at Stewart McKelvey, were also appointed as judges of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia in Halifax.

Derrick is replacing Ted Scanlan on the Court of Appeal, who elected to become a supernumerary judge, meaning he will sit half of the time of a full-timejudge.

Murray is replacing John Murphy, who also elected to become a supernumeraryjudge, while Brothers will replace Supreme Court Justice Arthur Pickup, who resigned in September 2016.