Michael Moldaver (born December 23, 1947) is a former Canadian judge. He was a puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada from his 2011 appointment by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper until his retirement in 2022. Before his elevation to the nation's top court, he served as a judge at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal for Ontario for over 20 years. A former criminal lawyer, Moldaver is considered an expert in both Canadian criminal law and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Early life and education Moldaver was born on December 23, 1947 in Peterborough, Ontario. He is the youngest of Irving Moldaver and Ruth Moldaver's three sons. Moldaver's father, Irving, was a Jewish Russian immigrant to Peterborough who worked as a scrap metal dealer; Ruth Moldaver's family ran a clothing store. Moldaver's maternal grandfather was also Peterborough's first rabbi. As his parents did not have the opportunity to receive a formal education, they stressed the importance of their sons receiving higher education. Moldaver attended elementary school at Queen Mary Public School and high school at Peterborough Collegiate. Upon graduating, he enrolled at the University of Toronto, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in 1968. From there, he decided to pursue a Bachelor of Laws and enrolled at the school's Faculty of Law. Moldaver struggled in his first semester of law school and failed his December exams. Moldaver recovered and upon his graduation in 1971, was named his graduating year's gold medalist, an award given to the student with the highest academic average. Career as a lawyer Upon graduating from law school, Moldaver began articling in Toronto at Thomson Rogers. At that time, his mind was set on finishing his articles and then returning to Peterborough to practice with his brother. However, Moldaver's plans changed with the opportunity to finish the last six months of his articles with a leading criminal defence lawyer, Goldwyn Arthur Martin. Due to his experience with Martin, he decided to remain in Toronto and pursue his career as a criminal lawyer. Moldaver was called to the Ontario Bar in 1973. Moldaver always wanted to pursue criminal law, as he enjoyed his criminal law classes in law school. In addition, he also admired the television show Perry Mason, which was based on a fictional charismatic criminal defence lawyer. Moldaver stated that the thought of "being able to defend a