Director of Public Prosecutions Retiring After 50 Years of Public Service
Martin Herschorn, QC, will retire as the Director of Public Prosecutions on Friday, February 4 – 50 years to the day after entering the public service of Nova Scotia.
Mr. Herschorn joined the Department of Attorney General in 1972. He later moved to the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service (PPS) upon its creation in 1990 as Canada’s first statutorily independent public prosecution service under the Public Prosecutions Act.
Mr. Herschorn was appointed Director of Public Prosecutions 21 years ago. He has led the PPS through an evolution of substantive changes in criminal law and has overseen a myriad of high-profile prosecutions that have gained national and sometimes international attention.
He has served under five governments and 10 different attorneys general and has seen the PPS grow from a handful of Crown attorneys to more than 100.
Mr. Herschorn is the longest-serving head of a prosecution agency nationally and is considered an elder statesman among Canadian prosecutorial leaders. He is a past member of the executive committee of the International Association of Prosecutors and is currently a member of the association’s Senate.
Quotes:
“Nova Scotia is very fortunate to have had such a distinguished lawyer lead its Public Prosecution Service for the past two decades and as Attorney General, I want to wish him the very best in retirement and thank him for his years of service to Nova Scotians.”
– Brad Johns, Attorney General and Minister of Justice
“The last 21 years as the Director of Public Prosecutions have been the most rewarding of my career. I am extremely proud of the dedicated men and women who comprise the PPS and who work hard to serve the public interest by performing prosecution duties with fairness, professionalism, and integrity.”
– Martin E. Herschorn, QC, Director of Public Prosecutions
Quick Facts:
- Nova Scotia’s 100 Crown attorneys prosecute about 40,000 new Criminal Code charges and 4,000 provincial regulatory offences each year
Additional Resources:
Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service website: https://novascotia.ca/pps/