The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal has made a significant decision regarding inmate lockdowns at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility. In a ruling dated January 2024, Justice Peter Rosinski found that inmates Durrell Diggs and Ryan Wilband had experienced “ongoing material deprivation” of their liberty during their time at the Burnside jail in Dartmouth, N.S. in the fall of 2023.

However, in a decision dated March 13, 2025, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal determined that Justice Rosinski had erred in his rulings. The Court of Appeal stated that Rosinski had improperly used habeas corpus to address systemic issues at the jail, which was considered to be “beyond the scope of such proceedings.”

During a habeas corpus application, a judge examines the conditions of a person’s confinement to determine if their Charter rights have been violated and whether they should be granted a remedy, such as more time out of their cell. Diggs and Wilband had filed separate applications arguing that rotational lockdowns due to staff shortages at Burnside had unlawfully deprived them of their “residual liberty.”

The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal clarified that it was not within Rosinski’s jurisdiction in a habeas corpus application to make recommendations on how staff shortages should be addressed. Additionally, the court noted that issuing declarations that could impact similar cases was an inappropriate use of habeas corpus.

The Court of Appeal emphasized that issues related to inmate lockdowns should be addressed through other legal avenues, such as Charter challenges or a judicial review. They stated, “Habeas corpus applications are not intended to be a review of how correctional facilities are managed.”

As a result, the Court of Appeal overturned Rosinski’s declarations that the lockdowns experienced by Diggs and Wilband were unlawful. The Court stated that these declarations “cannot stand and are hereby set aside.”