Chatham has been assigned a new judge.
Courtney Harris, who grew up near Dover Centre, was named a judge to the Court of Justice in Chatham effective June 13. Both of her parents are retired teachers.
Her appointment will bring the number of judges at the Chatham court to three, which will help alleviate court delays and backlogs, which have been an issue for the past few years
Called to the Ontario bar in 2003, Justice Harris has been a private sector litigator, Crown counsel at the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of the Attorney General, counsel for the Office of the Children’s Lawyer, and – most recently – a research lawyer at the Court of Appeal for Ontario.
In 2019, Harris received the Deputy Attorney General’s Award of Excellence and the Mental Health Champion Award. In 2023, the Law Society of Ontario awarded her the Laura Legge Award for her outstanding leadership within the profession.
