FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 18, 2003
MONTREAL – John J. (Jack) Walsh, Q.C., a Crown Prosecutor in Miramichi, New Brunswick has been selected as this year’s recipient of the John Tait Award of Excellence, presented by the Canadian Bar Association’s Public Sector Lawyers Conference (PSLC).
“Not only does Mr. Walsh have an outstanding record of contributing to our country through his work for the public service, he is also one of Canada’s most recognized legal experts in forensic DNA typing as it applies to criminal law,” says CBA President Simon Potter, of Montreal. “Jack Walsh is a leader in his field and a professional of the highest order.”
In 1989, Mr. Walsh was a member of the prosecution team in the murder trial of one of Canada’s most infamous serial killers, Allan Légère. There, he presented before the court DNA evidence against the accused, one of the first such times that this new form of evidence was used in this country. Since that time, Mr. Walsh has come to be known as one of this country’s foremost experts in the legal application of forensic DNA typing to the criminal law. Over the years, police and prosecutors alike have regularly sought out Mr. Walsh for consultation into some of this country’s most serious crimes.
As Crown Counsel and later Senior Crown Counsel, Mr. Walsh has provided outstanding work to the New Brunswick Attorney General’s Department and, for a short period on secondment, to the Federal Department of Justice in Ottawa. He is a recognized author in the field of the legal application of forensic DNA typing, having contributed articles and book chapters to legal and scientific publications alike. He is also the author of a 1994 public consultation paper, which formed a basis for the federal DNA Warrant legislation and DNA Data Bank legislation.
Born and raised in Miramichi, N.B., Mr. Walsh received his LL.B. in 1977 from the University of New Brunswick and his B.A. from St. Thomas University in Fredericton in 1975.
The John Tait Award of Excellence is presented by the PSLC during the Canadian Legal Conference in Montreal, on Monday August 18 at 4:30 p.m., in the Les Courants room of the Delta Centre-Ville. The event is open to accredited journalists who have registered with the CBA Media Centre.
The award was established in 1998 to honour, recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of public sector lawyers in Canada. The award honours the memory of John Tait, an outstanding lawyer, public servant and friend of the CBA who passed away in the summer of 1999.
The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 38,000 lawyers, notaries, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.
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CONTACT: Hannah Bernstein, Aug. 16-19, CBA Media Centre, Palais des congrès, Room 523B, (514) 871-5823.
