Morris Jacob Fish, (born November 16, 1938) was a
judge of the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to ...
from 2003 to 2013.
Born in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...
, the son of Aaron S. Fish and Zlata Grober, he received a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
(with distinction) in 1959 and a
Bachelor of Law
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...
(first class honours) in 1962 from
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
(where he was selected as the Articles Editor for the ''
McGill Law Journal''). Upon graduation from law school, he was awarded the Greenshields Prize, the Crankshaw Prize for Highest Standing in Criminal Law and the Macdonald Travelling Scholarship.
He practiced law mostly in
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...
for the law firm Cohen, Leithman, Kaufman, Yarosky & Fish which later became Yarosky, Fish, Zigman, Isaacs & Daviault between 1967 and 1989. He also lectured at a number of Canadian law schools. His expertise in practice and teaching was
criminal law. He was appointed to the
Quebec Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal of Quebec (sometimes referred to as Quebec Court of Appeal or QCA) (in French: ''la Cour d'appel du Québec'') is the highest judicial court in Quebec, Canada. It hears cases in Quebec City and Montreal.
History
The Court wa ...
on June 30, 1989 and was elevated to the Supreme Court of Canada on August 5, 2003, replacing
Charles Gonthier
Charles Doherty Gonthier, (August 1, 1928 – July 16, 2009) was a Puisne judge on the Supreme Court of Canada from February 1, 1989 to August 1, 2003. He was replaced by Morris Fish.
Early life
Gonthier was born in Montreal, Quebec to Geor ...
. He retired from the Court on August 31, 2013.
Awards
* Appointed
Queen's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...
, 1984
*
Honorary degree
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad ho ...
s from:
**
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.["About YU]
on the Yeshiva Universi ...
, 2009
**
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
, 2001
*
G. Arthur Martin medal for outstanding contribution to criminal justice, 2011
* Invested as a
companion
Companion may refer to:
Relationships Currently
* Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance
* A domestic partner, akin to a spouse
* Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach
* Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...
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 c ...
, 2016
See also
*
Baron Byng High School
*
Reasons of the Supreme Court of Canada by Justice Fish
References
External links
Supreme Court of Canada biography
1938 births
Living people
Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada
Lawyers from Montreal
Anglophone Quebec people
McGill University Faculty of Law alumni
Companions of the Order of Canada
Canadian King's Counsel
Jews from Quebec
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