Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey announced the appointment of seven judges to the Ontario Court of Justice, effective Dec. 1, 2022.
Justice Scott Bergman
Justice Bergman was called to the bar in 2004. That same year, he began practicing criminal law and in 2011 became partner at Cooper, Sandler, Shime and Bergman LLP, where he represented clients charged with a range of criminal offences. For the past year, Justice Bergman has served as an advisor to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, providing advice on the systemic review of anti-Black racism in the Toronto Police Service. He has also served as counsel to a review committee at St. Michael’s College School in the wake of eight incidents involving allegations of student sexual and physical abuse. In 2019, Justice Bergman was the independent reviewer retained to conduct an investigation and systemic review of the Hamilton Police Service and the events leading to violence at the 2019 Hamilton Pride celebrations, leading to a report with 38 recommendations adopted by the Hamilton Police Services Board in June 2020.
For the past two years Justice Bergman has volunteered for the Lawyers Feed the Hungry Program, serving meals to Torontonians in need. He is a member of the Canadian Bar Association’s law reform subcommittee, reviewing and approving submissions to the federal government on gender equality, Indigenous rights and language rights, among others. Justice Bergman is an avid hockey player and triathlete.
Chief Justice Lise Maisonneuve has assigned Justice Bergman to Newmarket.
Justice Stephen Raymond Bernstein
Justice Bernstein was called to the bar in 1993. Since 2005 he has been the senior and managing partner of the criminal defense firm Bernstein, Newman and Associates and has defended clients at all levels of court in Ontario. Justice Bernstein has lectured on various aspects of criminal law practice at conferences for the Law Society of Ontario, the Criminal Lawyers Association and for students at Osgoode Law School. He has appeared frequently as a guest discussing criminal law matters on the Law Garage, a podcast that seeks to make legal education accessible for everyone.
Justice Bernstein worked with young lawyers in the Criminal Lawyers’ Association mentor-mentee program for several years, providing legal guidance and practical advice. For over a decade he has served meals to Toronto communities in need as part of the Lawyers Feed the Hungry program.
Chief Justice Lise Maisonneuve has assigned Justice Bernstein to Brampton.
Justice Lindsay Daviau
Justice Daviau was called to the bar in 2006. In March 2022, she became an assistant Crown attorney in Hamilton. Before this, she spent six years with Rosen & Company Barristers as counsel on a variety of trials and regulatory matters and appeared twice as lead counsel before the Supreme Court of Canada. She was a preferred counsel at the Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company and represented clients facing ethical and legal allegations. As duty counsel with the Probono Inmate Appeal Program, Justice Daviau assisted unrepresented clients at Ontario’s Court of Appeal.
Justice Daviau was a member of the marketing committee for the Oakville Hornets Girls Hockey Association, and also coordinated sponsorship and fundraising initiatives for two hockey teams. Since 2017 she volunteered as a mentor with the Advocates’ Society, meeting with junior criminal defense lawyers to offer guidance and answer questions.
Chief Justice Lise Maisonneuve has assigned Justice Daviau to Brampton.
Justice Andrew Falls
Justice Falls was called to the bar in 2002. As the Crown attorney for Brant County, he prosecuted all criminal offences for Brantford and the Six Nations of the Grand River and acted as Crown lead for Brantford’s Indigenous Peoples Court. Prior to this he was acting deputy Crown attorney in the Peel Office. In 2016-2017 Justice Falls co-launched a drug treatment court that addressed root causes of crime and provided community supports to break the cycle of addiction. He also led the mental health team at the Alternative Resolutions Court in Peel, providing support to people with complex needs entering the justice system.
Justice Falls was a director at Central West Specialized Development Services, a non-profit providing services to people with developmental disabilities. He sat on the board of Community Development Halton, an organization supporting the Halton Region through volunteer work. He previously sat on the board of Victim Services of Peel, an organization supporting victims of crime and other tragedy.
Chief Justice Lise Maisonneuve has assigned Justice Falls to Brampton.
Justice Craig Harper
Justice Harper was called to the bar in 1995. For the past nine years he was a Crown counsel at the Ministry of the Attorney General’s Crown Law Office Criminal, most recently as part of the appeals practice group. Here, he appeared regularly at the Ontario Court of Appeal to argue a variety of cases, from constitutional challenges to homicide appeals. Prior to this, Justice Harper managed the intimate partner violence portfolio and provided support to justice sector partners on legal matters and policy issues. He has presented extensively on issues related to intimate partner violence for continuing education courses and has co-organized the Crown Attorneys’ Association’s week–long Family and Intimate Partner Violence Course for several years.
Prior to his legal career, Justice Harper spent a number of years working as a journalist in Yellowknife for several print and radio news outlets, reporting on a wide range of topics including territorial politics and Indigenous land claims.
Chief Justice Lise Maisonneuve has assigned Justice Harper to Newmarket.
Justice Mabel Cheuk Ting Lai
Justice Ting Lai was called to the bar in 2010. As Crown counsel in the Ministry of the Attorney General’s Crown Law Office Criminal, Justice Lai prosecuted criminal cases involving allegations against police in the Ontario and Superior Courts of Justice, as well as cases involving large-scale fraud. She argued numerous criminal law appeals before the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. Since 2019 Justice Lai worked as one of two provincial wiretap coordinators, managing the training of provincial wiretap agents and providing advice and education to federal Crown and policing partners. She has presented extensively to the judiciary on the subject of digital and expert evidence in criminal law.
Justice Lai was a member of the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Research Ethics Board, commenting on proposed research studies from a legal and privacy lens. She has participated in law student mentorship programs and coached the Osgoode Hall Gale Cup moot team for eight years. She has served as a director of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (Ontario).
Chief Justice Lise Maisonneuve has assigned Justice Lai to Brampton.
Justice Rohan Michael Robinson
Justice Robinson was called to the bar in 1998. As an assistant Crown attorney in the Guns and Gangs Unit for the last five years, Justice Robinson worked on large-scale multi-jurisdictional wiretap investigations of two major gangs operating in the Greater Toronto Area. Before this, Justice Robinson ran his own criminal defence practice for two years and spent over a decade as partner of the Robinson, Chartier Taraniuk Owoh and Fedorowicz criminal defence firm.
Justice Robinson was a member of a joint working group of Crown attorney associations developing policies, procedures and practices for addressing racism in the courts. He represented the Guns and Gangs Unit as part of the Ontario Crown Attorney Association’s Committee on Diversity and Inclusion and mentored a prospective law student as part of the Black Future Lawyers program at the University of Toronto. Justice Robinson has also been involved in coaching North Toronto Soccer Club teams for a number of years.
Chief Justice Lise Maisonneuve has assigned Justice Robinson to Newmarket.
