The Honourable Michael J. Moldaver |
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Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada | |
Assumed office October 21, 2011 |
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Nominated by | Stephen Harper |
Preceded by | Ian Binnie/Louise Charron |
Personal details | |
Born |
Peterborough, Ontario |
December 23, 1947
Alma mater |
University of Toronto University of Toronto Faculty of Law |
Occupation | Jurist |
Profession | Lawyer |
Religion | Judaism |
Michael Moldaver (born December 23, 1947) is a Canadian judge. He has been a Puisne Justice on the Supreme Court of Canada since his 2011 appointment by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Before his elevation to the nation's top court, he served as a judge at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Appeal for over twenty years. A former criminal lawyer, Moldaver is considered an expert in both Canadian criminal law and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Michael Moldaver was born on December 23, 1947 in Peterborough, Ontario. He is the youngest of Irving Moldaver and Ruth Moldaver's three sons. Moldaver's father, Irving, was a Jewish Russian immigrant to Peterborough who worked scrap metal dealer, Ruth Moldaver's family ran a clothing store. Moldaver's maternal grandfather was also Peterborough's first rabbi.
As his parents did not have the opportunity to receive a formal education, they stressed the importance of their sons receiving higher education. Moldaver attended elementary school at Queen Mary Public School and high school at Peterborough Collegiate. Upon graduating, he enrolled at the University of Toronto, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in 1968. From there, he decided to pursue a Bachelor of Laws, and enrolled at the school's Faculty of Law. Moldaver struggled in his first semester of law school and failed his December exams. Moldaver recovered and upon his graduation in 1971, was named his graduating year's gold medalist – an award given to the student with the highest academic average.