A Crown prosecutor with Red Deer roots has been appointed a provincial court justice.
The Alberta government announced this week that Medicine Hat Chief Crown prosecutor Jason Cowan will be one of three new judicial appointments.
Cowan, 46, grew up in Red Deer, attending Oriole Park Elementary School, Central Middle School and Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School.
Following high school, he went to Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C., where he graduated with a psychology degree. He spent a year in Uganda doing mission work before enrolling at the University of Saskatchewan.
After graduating from University of Saskatchewan's College of Law in 2008, he went into private practice. In 2012, he joined the Medicine Hat Crown Prosecutors' Office and was made Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor in July 2021.
In November 2024 he was promoted to Acting Chief Crown Prosecutor, Regional Prosecutions South.
Cowan will take the bench as a justice for the Southern Region on Dec. 16.
Also appointed justice is Sara Bragg, of Calgary, who will be a justice for the Calgary Criminal Division, Southern Region effective Dec. 17.
Susanne Stushnoff KC, former Alberta deputy attorney general, has been appointed justice for the Edmonton Civil Division. Her appointment takes effect Jan. 21, 2025.
"The court is very pleased by the appointments announced today," said Alberta Court of Justice Chief Justice Jim Hunter, in a statement. "The experience and qualifications of the individuals named will enhance their respective divisions and the court as a whole in improving access to justice for all Albertans."
