Lorne O. Clarke, (November 22, 1928 – May 21, 2016) was a Canadian lawyer and Chief Justice of the

Nova Scotia Supreme Court The Nova Scotia Supreme Court is a superior court in the province of Nova Scotia. The Supreme Court consists of 25 judicial seats including the position of Chief Justice and Associate Chief Justice. At any given time there may be one or more addit ...

Early life and education

Born in

Malagash, Nova Scotia Malagash is a dispersed community on the Malagash Peninsula in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Upper Malagash is on Nova Scotia Trunk 6, and just inland is Malagash Station on the former Intercolonial Railway, now part of the Trans Canada ...

, in 1928, he graduated from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

with a B.A. in 1949 and an LL.B. in 1951. In 1955, he received an LL.M. from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1953.

Career

He was a member of the Faculty of Law of Dalhousie University from 1952 to 1959. From 1959 to 1981, he practised law in

Truro, Nova Scotia Truro (Mi'kmaq: ''Wagobagitik''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Truru'') is a town in central Nova Scotia, Canada. Truro is the shire town of Colchester County and is located on the south side of the Salmon River floodplain, close to the river's mouth at ...

. He was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1969. In 1981, he was made a Judge of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, Trial Division. On August 22, 1985, he became the twentieth Chief Justice since the founding of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court in 1754. He retired in 1998. From 1998 to 1999, he was the Chair of the Memorial Advisory Committee of Swissair Flight 111. In 1999, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

. In 2002, he was awarded the

Order of Nova Scotia The Order of Nova Scotia (french: Ordre de la Nouvelle-Écosse) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Instituted on August 2, 2001, when Lieutenant Governor Myra Freeman granted Royal Assent to the Order of Nova ...

. He died on May 21, 2016 in Halifax.Retired Chief Justice Lorne Clarke passes away at 87
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Personal life

He married Mary Louise MacLeod on August 22, 1959 at St.Andrews Presbyterian Church in Pictou, NS. They had three children: Nora, George and Colin.

References

1928 births 2016 deaths Canadian legal scholars Canadian people of British descent Canadian Presbyterians Dalhousie University alumni Schulich School of Law alumni Harvard Law School alumni Members of the Order of Nova Scotia Judges in Nova Scotia Officers of the Order of Canada People from Colchester County People from Cumberland County, Nova Scotia Canadian King's Counsel {{Canada-law-bio-stub