Hunt(er)'s over for new judged, By Tom Gavey The Intelligencer Stephen Hunter says now is an "exciting time" to join the province's judiciary. The Belleville lawyer has been appointed a Justice of the On- tario Court (Provincial Division) as of June 1. The announcement was made Friday by Attorney General Howard Hampton. " . . . This is an exciting time with the province in the process of court reform and I want to be part of that," says Hunter. Hunter will fill a vacancy in Morrisburg and serve in the east- Stephen Hunter ern region, which covers an area west to Trenton and east to Otta- wa. He says he and his family will continue to live in the Quinte area. Hunter, 41, obtained a Bache- lor of Arts degree from Queen's University in Kingston before moving to Halifax to complete his law degree at Dalhousie Univer- sity. He's a graduate of Moira Secondary School. He was called ;o the Bar in April, 1976 and that same month opened a law partnership in Belleville with Robert Reynolds. Hunter was recently recognized as a specialist in d.vii and crimi- nal litigation and certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada. Active in local justice organi- zations, Hunter is a member of the Hastings County Criminal Lawyers Association and the lo- cal Courts Delay Reduction Com- mittee. He is a founding member of the Hastings County Sexual Abuse Committee and in March was recognized with an honorary lifetime membership to the Hast- ings County Children's Aid Soci- ety for his work with that group. He says the firm will make an announcement soon on what changes will be made with his de- parture. "I hope to take a commonsense approach to matters. The court is there to serve the public needs and not the other way around," says Hunter. - 7. •'