Inquiry Team
The Honourable Paul B. Scovil
Per Diem Judge of the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia
The Honourable Paul B. Scovil was appointed to take over as the presiding judge for the Desmond Fatality Inquiry on July 10, 2023.
Originally from Gagetown, N.B., Judge Scovil came to the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia with almost 29 years of experience in the legal profession.
He obtained a BA from Acadia University (1979) and his law degree from Dalhousie Law School (1982). He was admitted to the Nova Scotia Bar the same year and to the New Brunswick Bar in 1986 and practiced in private law firms in both provinces.
As a lawyer, Judge Scovil worked for almost a decade with Nova Scotia Legal Aid and served as a Crown Prosecutor and Senior Crown Attorney with the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service for the 14 years leading up to his appointment.
Judge Scovil retired as a full-time Provincial Court judge, effective April 30, 2023. He continues to sit as a per diem (part-time) judge across the province, as needed.
The Honourable Warren K. Zimmer
Retired Judge of the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia
The Honourable Warren K. Zimmer was the Provincial Court Judge appointed to the Inquiry. Judge Zimmer presided over 56 days of hearings between May 2019 and April 2023.
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.