Chief Judge Melissa Gillespie has announced the appointment of three new judges.

It is my great pleasure and privilege to announce that the Lieutenant Governor in Council has signed Orders in Council appointing three judges to the Provincial Court. The new judge appointments are Perbeen Mann, Jacinta Lawton and Scott Wright.

Judge Mann

Judge Mann will be sworn in on May 1, 2026. She will be assigned to the Fraser region with chambers in Abbotsford. Judge Mann was called to the bar in 2001. She spent most of her career working as a federal prosecutor, first as a standing agent, and then joining the Public Prosecution Service of Canada in 2007. In 2022, she was appointed Team Leader of the newly opened Surrey office. She holds a leadership position on the PPSC National Council of Racialized Employees. In this capacity she has provided recommendations to senior government officials for increasing cultural competency and anti-racism initiatives with the workplace. She has conducted many lengthy and serious prosecutions including specializing in organized crime cases. Judge Mann is known as a mentor in her workplace when it comes to substantive law, procedure, and professional conduct. Since 2018 she has been an adjunct faculty professor with the LLM program (Masters in Common Law) at the Peter A. Allard School of Law. She teaches Canadian Criminal Law & Procedure and Canadian Private Law: Contractual Obligations & Remedies. 

Judge Lawton

Judge Lawton will be sworn in on May 1, 2026. She will be assigned to the Fraser region with chambers in Port Coquitlam. 

Judge Lawton was called to the bar in March of 1995. She spent her career with the BC Prosecution Service working in adult and youth courts in Port Coquitlam, Surrey, Richmond, and Vancouver. She focused her practice on the prosecution of intimate partner violence, sexual offences, and large files involving children and vulnerable victims. She is highly regarded for spearheading the Intimate Partner Violence Team at 222 Main Street and then expanding this to other crown offices. She has become a resource for other crown counsel on IPV and hate crime cases, providing support to colleagues across the province on complex files. Judge Lawton is a sought-after participant in education programs and has created training materials for crown counsel, police, and other justice stakeholders particularly on the prosecution of IPV files.

Judge Wright

Judge Wright will be sworn in on May 21, 2026. He will be assigned to the Fraser region with chambers in Surrey. 

Judge Wright was called to the BC bar in 2007. He spent his career in private practice as a criminal defence lawyer. He conducted cases at all levels of court in BC, Alberta, and Manitoba. In addition, he is frequently retained by the BC Public Prosecution Service as ad Hoc Crown Counsel. He has also defended various professionals against disciplinary matters with their regulatory body, providing him with experience in administrative law.