Alberta lawyer resigns licence, admits to improper relationship with complainant

A courtroom is seen at the Edmonton Law Courts building, in Edmonton on June 28, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

A former Alberta Crown prosecutor has given up his law licence after he admitted to having an inappropriate relationship with a complainant in a criminal case he was prosecuting.

The Law Society of Alberta cited former Lethbridge Crown prosecutor Darwyn Ross for the inappropriate relationship earlier this year.

A panel of law society benchers accepted Ross’s resignation at a hearing today, along with an agreed statement of facts that included his admission to engaging in the relationship.

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The panel heard Ross was prosecuting a domestic violence matter in 2021 when he and the complainant shared meetings and communications that were of a “personal and sexual nature.”

Ross had been a practising lawyer in Alberta for 20 years, but hasn’t worked in law since taking medical leave in 2021 before leaving the Crown’s office one year later.

As a prosecutor in Lethbridge, Ross tried a few high-profile cases, including one where a teacher in a Hutterite community admitted to abusing children with weapons for more than a decade.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2025.

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press