19 Facts About Sheilah Martin

Sheilah L Martin was born on May 31,1956 and is a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, having served in that role since 2017.

Sheilah Martin was nominated to the court by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on November 29,2017.

Sheilah Martin earned a Bachelor of Civil Law and a Bachelor of Common Law from McGill University in 1981.

Sheilah Martin then moved to Alberta to pursue her career.

Sheilah Martin was called to the Alberta Bar in 1989, and has mainly practiced in the province since.

Sheilah Martin earned a Master of Laws from the University of Alberta in 1983.

Sheilah Martin earned her Doctorate of Juridical Science from the University of Toronto in 1991.

Sheilah Martin then served as acting dean and then permanent dean of the University of Calgary's Faculty of Law from 1991 to 1996.

Sheilah Martin practiced corporate, commercial, criminal, and constitutional law from 1996 until she left Code Hunter LLP after her appointment as a judge in 2005.

Sheilah Martin worked on the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, and on the team that won compensation in the wrongful conviction case of David Milgaard.

In 2005, Sheilah Martin was appointed as judge to the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta in Calgary.

In March 2016, Sheilah Martin issued the first judicial approval in Canada for a person requesting assisted death after the Supreme Court's decision in Carter v Canada.

Sheilah Martin allowed the assisted death for a woman diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and held the hearing closed to the public and media to respect her privacy.

Sheilah Martin decided that statements in support of the application from two doctors were sufficient, a decision which rejected guidelines from the Supreme Court of British Columbia and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that more statements were required.

Sheilah Martin held that no psychiatric assessment on the day of death was necessary, and that the applicant's request should not fail on technical or legalistic grounds.

Sheilah Martin ruled that the ruling would apply across Canada, which allowed the applicant to travel out of province in order to fulfill her wish of assisted death.

In June 2016, Sheilah Martin was appointed by Prime Minister Trudeau to the Court of Appeal of Alberta, the Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories, and the Court of Appeal of Nunavut.

Sheilah Martin was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on December 18,2017.

Sheilah Martin was married to Hersh Wolch, a defence lawyer she met at a law conference, from 2000 until his death in 2017.