The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia will host a swearing-in ceremony in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, on Friday, February 27, 2026, to honour the Court’s newest judges – the Hon. Stacey D. O’Neill, the Hon. Scott R. Campbell, the Hon. Bryna D. Hatt and the Hon. Michelle M. Kelly.

The event will be livestreamed from the Supreme Court Satellite Courthouse in Dartmouth starting at 4:00 p.m. on February 27. The public and media can watch online at https://www.courts.ns.ca/operations/webcasts. Archived video of the ceremony will be posted online following the event.

As per the Nova Scotia Courts’ copyright policy, webcasts of court proceedings and special events may not be broadcast or re-broadcast by embedding them in another website or by any other means. However, portions of the webcasts (audio and video) may be re-broadcast as part of conventional news coverage. Hyperlinks to the live webcast page and the page of archived videos on the Courts website are permitted.

The Honourable Stacey D. O’Neill
Justice Stacey O’Neill graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 2004 and Dalhousie University’s Schulich School of Law in 2009. She was admitted to the Nova Scotia Bar in 2010.

Justice O’Neill has worked in various areas of the family justice system, including in private practice, and as a conciliator, adjudicator and court officer with the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (Family Division). She has made many contributions to family law reform and has participated on national family law committees, international roundtables and experts’ groups.

Justice O’Neill was appointed to the Supreme Court (Family Division) on November 7, 2025, and presides in Halifax.

The Honourable Scott R. Campbell
Justice Scott Campbell graduated from Carleton University with a Bachelor of Arts degree (highest honours) in 2001 and from Dalhousie Law School (now Schulich School of Law) in 2004. He also earned a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from the University of Oxford in 2011. He was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 2005 and the Nova Scotia Bar in 2008.

As a private practice lawyer, Justice Campbell focused on class actions, jurisdictional disputes, commercial litigation, constitutional law and legal ethics. A frequent speaker on continuing legal education, he has also served as Chair of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society’s Complaints Investigation Committee and instructed part-time at the Schulich School of Law. Justice Campbell was designated King’s Counsel in 2025.

Justice Campbell was appointed to the Supreme Court on November 28, 2025, and presides in Sydney.

The Honourable Bryna D. Hatt
Justice Bryna Hatt graduated from Dalhousie Law School (now Schulich School of Law) in 2007 and later went on to earn a Master of Law degree from York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School. She was called to the Bar in 2008.

She was appointed a Judge of the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia in February 2023.

As a lawyer, she worked in private practice, specializing in Indigenous, labour and employment law. She also served as an adjudicator with the Nova Scotia Small Claims Court and taught Business Law at St. Francis Xavier University’s Schwartz School of Business.

As a judge, Justice Hatt served as one of the Provincial Court representatives on the All Courts Technology Committee and was a member of the Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges’ Committee on the Law.

Justice Hatt was appointed to the Supreme Court on December 16, 2025, and presides in Pictou.

The Honourable Michelle M. Kelly
Justice Michelle Kelly earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen’s University in 2000 and a Law Degree from the University of New Brunswick in 2003. She was called to the Bar in 2004.

As a lawyer, she worked in private practice, specializing in complex commercial litigation and insurance work. She has served as President of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society and as Chair of The Coalition of Provincial and Territorial Advisory Councils on the Status of Women.

She was designated Queen’s Counsel (now King’s Counsel) in 2021. She is fully bilingual in  English and French.

Justice Kelly was appointed to the Supreme Court on December 16, 2025, and presides in Bridgewater.