N.S. appoints two new provincial court judges - Action News
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Nova Scotia

N.S. appoints two new provincial court judges

Alonzo Wright and Mark Heerema have been selectedfor the provincial court, giving it a full complement of judges.

Erin Nauss chosen as interim director of SiRT, replacing Alonzo Wright

A side by side image features a Black man with locks on the left who is wearing a black suit and a blue shirt. On the right there is a white man wearing a black suit and a gingham shirt.
Alonzo Wright, left, and Mark Heerema have both worked with the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service as Crown attorneys. (Submitted by the Nova Scotia Judiciary, CBC)

Nova Scotia has appointed two new judges to the provincial court, including the outgoing director of the province's police watchdog.

Alonzo Wright, who was selected as the director of the Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) in December 2022, will be presiding over provincial court matters effective Thursday.

Alongside Wright, Mark Heerema has also been chosen for the provincial court, bringing the court to a full complement of judges.

The provincial Justice Department said in a statement thatWright has practised criminal law since 1996 and has worked as a senior Crown attorney with the Public Prosecution Service.

Heerema also worked with the prosecution service after being called to the Nova Scotia bar in 2007.

Erin Nauss has been chosen as the interim director of SiRT. A permanent director will be announced at a later date.

Wright is now one of four African Nova Scotian judges on the provincial court.

This comes just over a month after the province chose its first African Nova Scotian chief judge. Perry F. Borden replaced Pamela Williams, who held the position for 10 years.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community check outBeing Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of.You can read more stories here.

A banner of upturned fists, with the words 'Being Black in Canada'.
(CBC)