Edmund Leslie Newcombe, (February 17, 1859 – December 9, 1931) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

lawyer, civil servant, and

Puisne Justice Puisne judge and puisne justice () are terms for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. The term comes from a combination of the two French words, (since, later) and (born) which have been combined as or ; meaning ...

of the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) 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 between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

Early life

Born in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, the son of John Cumming Newcombe and Abigail H. Calkin, he received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1878 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in 1881 from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

. He received a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree in 1881 from the short-lived University of Halifax.

Career

In 1882, he was called to the Nova Scotia Bar and started to practise law. In 1893, he became

Deputy Minister Deputy minister is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. A deputy minister is positioned in some way "under" a minister, who is a full member of Cabinet, in charge of a particular sta ...

of Justice and was called to the Ontario Bar, and was appointed

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

shortly after. As Deputy Minister, he "was responsible for all the legal work of the government of Canada". He frequently appeared in person in front of the Supreme Court of Canada and the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...

, appearing in more than thirty cases in front of the latter. He was appointed a CMG in 1909. On September 20, 1924, Newcombe was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. He served until his death in 1931.

Selected judgments

* '' Reference re Validity of the Combines Investigation Act and of s. 498 of the Criminal Code'', 929SCR 409

References

External links

Supreme Court of Canada biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newcombe, Edmund Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada Canadian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George 19th-century Canadian civil servants 20th-century Canadian civil servants Schulich School of Law alumni Canadian Presbyterians 1859 births 1931 deaths Canadian King's Counsel Canadian federal deputy ministers