# Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador

The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador is the superior court for the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction to hear appeals in both criminal and civil matters from the Provincial Court and designated boards and administrative tribunals. The court also hear serious criminal cases in the first instances, matters of probate, and family law matters.
The Supreme Court consists of 28 judicial seats including the position of Chief Justice. Of the current justices, 8 sit with supernumerary status.

## About the Court

The Court is composed of the General Division and Family Division, and has the authority to hear a wide range of cases including civil and criminal matters, matters of estates and guardianship, and family matters. The Court has the authority to hear appeals of specific matters not under jurisdiction of the province's appellate court.
The Court is located in six regions of the province: Corner Brook (3 justices), Gander (1 justice), Grand Bank (1 justice), Grand Falls-Windsor (1 justice), Happy Valley-Goose Bay (1 justice), and St. John's (21 justices).

## Current justices

| Name | Appointed | Division | Nominated by | Prior position(s) |
| Chief Justice Raymond P. Whalen | June 19, 2008 (Trial) December 11, 2014 (CJ) | Trial | Harper | |
| Justice Richard LeBlanc | June 20, 2000 | Family | Chretien | |
| Justice Valerie L. Marshall | April 29, 2009 | Trial | Harper | Solo Practitioner |
| Justice Robert P. Stack | November 30, 2009 | Trial | Harper | Cox & Palmer (1984 to 2009) |
| Justice Deborah J. Paquette | June 18, 2010 | Trial | Harper | |
| Justice Rosalie McGrath | May 31, 2012 | Family | Harper | |
| Justice Donald H. Burrage | October 5, 2012 | Trial | Harper | |
| Justice Laura A. Mennie | March 9, 2014 | Family | Harper | Provincial court (2012 to 2014) Newfoundland Department of (2007 to 2012) Legal Aid (1994 to 2007) Poole, Althouse (1993 to 1994) |
| Justice George L. Murphy | April 10, 2014 | Family | Harper | Poole Althouse (1992 to 2014) |
| Justice Jane M. Fitzpatrick | March 27, 2015 | Family | Harper | |
| Justice Cillian D. Sheahan | June 20, 2015 | Family | Harper | |
| Justice Sandra R. Chaytor | May 12, 2017 | Trial | Trudeau | Cox & Palmer |
| Justice Frances J. Knickle | May 12, 2017 | Trial | Trudeau | Acting Director of Public Prosecutions with the Newfoundland and Labrador Department |
| Justice Vikas Khaladkar | October 20, 2017 | Trial | Trudeau | |
| Justice Alexander S. MacDonald | November 9, 2017 | Family | Trudeau | |
| Justice Daniel Boone | November 2, 2018 | Trial | Trudeau | |
| Justice Michelle Coady | March 26, 2019 | Family | Trudeau | |
| Justice Katherine O'Brien | March 26, 2019 | Trial | Trudeau | |
| Justice Glen Noel | May 21, 2019 | Trial | Trudeau | |
| Justice Peter Browne | March 24, 2021 | Trial | Trudeau | |
| Justice Irene Muzychka | March 24, 2021 | Trial | Trudeau | |
| Justice Trudy Button | March 24, 2021 | Trial | Trudeau | |
| Justice Stacy Ryan | March 24, 2021 | Trial | Trudeau | |

### Supernumerary

| Name | Date appointed | Division | Nominated by |
| Justice Kendra J. Goulding | June 5, 2002 | Trial | Chretien |
| Justice Alphonsus E. Faour | November 5, 2003 | Trial | |
| Justice Maureen A. Dunn | October 4, 1994 | Trial | |
| Justice James P. Adams | August 7, 1996 | Trial | |
| Justice Garrett A. Handrigan | March 27, 2001 | Trial | |
| Justice Carl R. Thompson | December 4, 2001 | Trial | |