Nova Scotia Crown Attorney Receives National Award

Cape Breton Region chief Crown attorney Daniel MacRury is the 2010 recipient of the prestigious Canadian Bar Association (CBA) John Tait Award of Excellence.

The award is presented annually to an outstanding Canadian public sector lawyer.

"We are thrilled that one of our own has been awarded this national honour," said Martin Herschorn, director of Public Prosecutions. "Dan is certainly deserving. His accomplishments as a Crown attorney are stellar and the dedication he has shown as a volunteer within the profession is unsurpassed. We are very proud of him."

Before joining the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service in 1996, Mr. MacRury practiced criminal and family law with Nova Scotia Legal Aid. He was named Queen's Counsel in 2005 and was appointed chief Crown attorney of the Cape Breton Region in 2008.

The John Tait Award of Excellence was established in 1998 to honour, recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of public sector lawyers in Canada. It will be presented to Mr. MacRury on Aug. 16 at the CBA's Public Sector Lawyers Forum in Niagara, Ont.

"When I think of the multitudes of extremely hard working public sector lawyers who are worthy of this award, I am truly humbled to be this year's recipient," said Mr. MacRury.

A native of Sydney, Mr. MacRury has been involved in more than 30 Supreme Court judge and jury cases including several murder cases. He has also represented the Attorney General of Nova Scotia in the Supreme Court of Canada on three occasions including the case of R. v. Sharpe, the case which established the current law in relation to child pornography.

Mr. MacRury has been a member of a working group on cybercrime since 2001. He was a member of the Canadian delegation to the 11th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and elected vice-chair of the 2005 UN workshop on measures to combat computer-related crime.

In 2009 he was appointed Inquiry Counsel for the Hyde Fatality Inquiry.

Mr. MacRury is the incoming vice-chair of the Criminal Justice Section of the CBA and treasurer of the Nova Scotia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association.