A government of New Brunswick news release indicates Oliver was appointed a provincial court judge in April 2012.

He received his law degree from the University of New Brunswick and was called to the bar in 1984. He worked for the same law firm until 2000, and then went on to become a Crown prosecutor in Fredericton and Woodstock, according to the news release.

CBC News asked the Department of Justice for an interview about Oliver's judicial misconduct, and whether any disciplinary actions were taken.

In an email response, Caroline Lafontaine, registrar for New Brunswick's courts, said Oliver's retirement on Nov. 5 means the Judicial Council no longer has jurisdiction over the matter, bringing an end to the disciplinary proceeding against him.

When CBC News asked for further details about what the disciplinary proceeding against Oliver would have entailed,  Lafontaine referred to the Provincial Court Act but didn't specify the relevant sections.

"It is not for me to speculate on what evidence would have been called and what the outcome might have been," she said in an email.

Oliver declined to provide an interview.

Reentovich said the outcome offers "cold comfort" for those left with questions about Oliver's actions.

"My issue with all this is the process for determining whether a judge's conduct was inappropriate is all behind closed doors," he said, adding he only knew of Morrison's initial suspension through a news story.

"There's not this transparency to say, 'Look, judges are human, this judge made a mistake' ... and if there needs to be remedial action, 'Here's the remedial action.'"

The Appeal Court decision represents a second victory for Morrison, who's previously challenged New Brunswick's justice system for wrongs against him.

The New Brunswick Court of Appeal set aside convictions for three charges Scott Morrison was facing three months in jail for. (Fredericton provincial court)

Last December, a provincial court judge agreed to lessen a separate eight-count drug trafficking conviction by four months after Morrison successfully argued his charter rights were violated when Saint John jail guards punched him while he was on remand in September 2022.

That decision reduced Morrison's sentence to a total of 29 months in prison. 

The four charges most recently stayed would have added three months to that sentence, said Reentovich, adding that Morrison at this time is likely either applying for day parole or has already been granted it.

Striking court stenographers picked up support Monday from defence lawyers. The lawyers are threatening to withhold legal aid services unless the province settles the strike. That could mean more cases will be thrown out of court.

At a meeting in Fredericton the lawyers traded stories about the inconvenience the nine week strike has caused. They said there had been trial delays and delays in getting transcripts and documents. They accuse the province of not acting in good faith.

One service they are threatening to withhold is answering "Bridges calls," the free calls people make to a legal aid lawyer anytime day or night. They don't get paid to answer them and now they say won't unless the government makes a deal with the stenos.

Lawyer Danny Watters has already stopped.

For 24 years, I've told any police officer, anybody in custody, anybody detained, call me, I'm available 24 hours a day. When I see the shabby treatment that the employees have had in this whole situation, I'm withholding that. I will not answer any more phone calls.

So far, the government has offered just a 7.5 percent wage increase. Striking stenographers and their supporters demonstrated at the Legislature twice in the past week, demanding wage parity with their counterparts in other Maritime provinces. They're also asking for binding arbitration but so far, the government hasn't agreed to that, either.

New Brunswick's minister of justice says the province can't afford to pay the legal bill for native fishermen in Burnt Church. Last week, a provincial court judge ruled that two members of the Burnt Church band are entitled to legal aid, but he didn't specify which government will get the bill.

New Brunswick MLAs say they're not opposed to legal aid for those facing charges in Burnt Church. However, Liberal Leader Bernard Richard says many native people are involved, the treaty issues are complex, and the cases could take months if not years to resolve.

Tuesday in the legislature, Richard raised the issue before the justice minister.

"I was concerned that the province might be stuck with the bill because there will be many others of these types of charges," said Richard. "This is just the tip of the iceberg actually. If the province has to start picking up the bill for these cases, it's going to be very expensive indeed."

Justice Minister Brad Green says the province doesn't have the money to cover what could be multimillion-dollar legal bills. He says he's hoping the federal government will come through with the cash.

"It's our belief as a provincial government that the responsibility should be borne by Ottawa," he said. "Not only for the charges which are being prosecuted by federal prosecutors under the Federal Fisheries Act, but also all of the charges related to the activities at Burnt Church."

Green says the government is discussing the situation with the federal government right now. He says the provincial legal aid program can administer this file but the province doesn't have the resources to pick up the tab.

The New Brunswick government will accept the resignation of a provincial court judge convicted of fraud and is preparing the paperwork to cut off his $151,000 salary and benefits.

Judge Drew Stymiest, who served more than 20 years on the bench, was convicted Tuesday of 20 counts of fraud and breach of trust in a scheme that swindled nearly $1 million from the Miramichi Regional Health Authority.

Stymiest made history this week as the first New Brunswick judge to be convicted on fraud charges. He and three former directors of the corporation were found guilty in a financial conspiracy that siphoned money away from the Miramichi health care system.

• FROM MARCH 20, 2003: Accused judge will stay on provincial payroll

Stymiest took sick leave in October 2001 when Miramichi City Police began investigating allegations of financial misdealings at the health authority, of which the judge was chairman of the board. In January 2002, he returned to the bench but was not assigned any cases. He was suspended with pay in June 2003. He has been collecting his salary all along.

Justice Department spokesman Gary Toft says the government is investigating options to recoup some of the losses connected with the crime – including Stymiest's salary and benefits while the investigation and trial was ongoing. It is unclear what will happen to the judge's pension fund. "We will be looking at all of our options," Toft said.

Toft says the Nova Scotia Crown prosecutors may file a restitution order when the four men are sentenced at the end of March.

Saint John lawyer John Barry says Judge Stymiest's conduct has caused great concern among those in the legal community.

"The province's judges are extremely concerned about the impression it gives – that a member of the bench would become involved in most serious charges. Independence of the court and respect for justice is one of the paramount aspects of our Canadian system of democracy. They were shocked when it happened. Nobody could believe it."

The resignation was expected after Judge Stymiest and three others were convicted in a four-month trial that ended on Tuesday. It was the longest fraud trial in the history of New Brunswick.

The men, including former health authority CEO John Tucker, former finance vice-president Ian Jamieson, and former vice-president of supply and services Darrell Doucette, are being held in police custody awaiting sentencing at the end of March.

Mayor John McKay says the entire affair is a tragedy for his community and trust will take a long time to rebuild. "I'm a member of the Rotary club of Newcastle and Chatham that raised more than a million dollars to buy equipment for the hospital – that the hospital couldn't afford to buy. Now we know, perhaps, why the hospital couldn't afford that. This conspiracy is shameful."

McKay says the City of Miramichi spent tens of thousands of dollars on the initial police investigation, money that he is trying to recoup. "The city has paid huge amounts from this investigation. We're still getting bills, and I mean many, many tens of thousands of dollars, and I don't think it's proper that the taxpayers of the City of Miramichi should be on the hook to finance an investigation into a conspiracy to defraud the people of the Miramichi and to defraud the hospital."

At trial, the Crown said the men wrote and cashed illegal cheques between 1994 and 2000.

Miramichi Regional Health Authority is now trying to move forward from the trial and the guilty verdicts and build trust in the community.

Authority spokesperson Sonya Green Haché says the new board is working hard to improve accountability with the community and government.

"We've strengthened our financial controls. We have also re-organized our senior management team since 2000, and our board was reinstated in 2001."