Inquiry Team
The Honourable Warren K. Zimmer
Judge of the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia
The Honourable Warren K. Zimmer is the Provincial Court Judge appointed to preside over the Inquiry. Judge Zimmer is a native of Toronto, Ontario. He received his L.L.B. from Dalhousie University in 1974, his L.L.M. from the University of Sydney in 1977, and was called to the Nova Scotia Bar in 1978.
Judge Zimmer worked as a Crown prosecutor until 1983 when he entered private practice. For the next 10 years he practiced primarily criminal law at Cox, Downie & Goodfellow in Halifax, before going into private practice as a sole practitioner. He was appointed to the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia on April 12, 2011.
Before his involvement in this Inquiry, Judge Zimmer participated in three other Inquiries in Nova Scotia, including the Nunn Commission in 2006 when he represented a young offender who was involved in a fatal car crash that killed Theresa McEvoy.
Allen Murray, Q.C.
Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service
Allen Murray, Q.C., is the designated lead counsel appointed to conduct the Inquiry. A native of New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Allen holds Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and Bachelor of Education degrees from St. Francis Xavier University. He graduated from Dalhousie University Law School in 1990.
Allen is currently the Chief Crown Attorney for the Central Region of the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service (NSPPS) where he is responsible for managing Crown Attorneys and staff in five offices in northern Nova Scotia. Before joining the PPS as a Crown Attorney in 2001, he worked for several years as a staff lawyer with Nova Scotia Legal Aid in Antigonish and New Glasgow. He also worked as an Appeal Commissioner with the Nova Scotia Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal.
Allen is the past President of the Antigonish/Guysborough Bar Society and is a member of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society Criminal Standards Committee and the Mi’kmaq-Nova Scotia-Canada Tripartite Forum Justice Committee. He is also a member of the Board of Celtic Community Homes, a non-profit organization providing support for mental health consumers in the Antigonish area.
D. Shane Russell
D. Shane Russell, who had been designated co-counsel on the Inquiry, was appointed a Judge of the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia on December 10, 2021.
Selena Acker
Judicial Assistant
Raised in Bickerton West, N.S., Selena Acker graduated from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax with a Legal Secretarial Diploma. She has worked with various law firms, an accounting firm, Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Justice during her 30 years of employment.
Selena has served in many roles in Justice since she joined that department in 1995, including Commissioner of Oaths, Justice of the Peace, Judicial Assistant in Supreme Court, Provincial Court and Family Court, Certified Court Transcriber, Domestic Violence Educator, Parent Information Program Facilitator, as well as being a member of the JEIN User Network Committee and the Occupational Health and Safety Committee.