David Paciocco

David M. Paciocco is a justice of the Court of Appeal for Ontario in Toronto, Ontario.[1] Paciocco has authored several books on criminal law[2] and is considered one of Canada's foremost experts on the law of evidence.[3][4]

Career

Paciocco completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Western Ontario and a master's degree in law from the University of Oxford.[1] Paciocco was hired by the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law in 1982 and was called to the Ontario bar in 1983.[5] He was a member of the legal team that defended the Canadian Red Cross in the tainted blood scandal.[1] From 1994 to 1998, Paciocco was counsel in private practice.[5] Paciocco also later taught at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law.[1] In 1999, he published Getting Away With Murder: The Canadian Criminal Justice System, a book intended for the public about the Canadian criminal justice system.[4] In June 2005, Paciocco was nominated to receive an Honorary Doctorate from Laurentian University.[6]

In 2010 a Toronto Star investigation revealed that since becoming the ombudsman for the Canadian military in 2001 and then Ontario Ombudsman in 2005, André Marin had awarded Paciocco over $250,000 in untendered government contracts.[7] Marin and Paciocco complained about the article to the Ontario Press Council, which upheld with the complaint, finding the implications to be unfounded.[8]

Judge

In 2011, Paciocco was appointed a judge of the Ontario Court of Justice for the Ottawa region.[1] In 2014, Paciocco struck down the Government of Canada's mandatory victim surcharge, finding that it amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.[3] Ontario prosecutors appealed the decision, but later dropped it after a ruling by Justice Bruce Glass of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice upheld the mandatory victim surcharge.[2] In a later decision, Paciocco said he was bound to follow the higher court's ruling, but in an unusual move, offered detailed criticism of the decision.[2]

In 2015, Paciocco convicted a volunteer firefighter of drunk driving, although he threw out the blood alcohol testing after finding police violated the driver's rights.[9]

On April 7, 2017, Paciocco was elevated to the Court of Appeal for Ontario.[10]

References
  1. McGee, Rick (2011-11-04). "Another honour for esteemed Saultite". Sootoday. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  2. Fine, Sean (26 May 2015). "Victim fines spur break between lower and higher courts". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  3. Seymour, Andrew. "Prominent Ottawa judge strikes down mandatory victim surcharge". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  4. Stuart, Don. "A Review of David M. Paciocco, Getting Away With Murder: The Canadian Criminal Justice System" (PDF). McGill Law Journal. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  5. "News - Ministry of the Attorney General". Ministry of the Attorney General. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  6. Proulx, Eric ‘’ Congratulations to Professor Paciocco who will be receiving an Honorary Doctorate Ottawa : University of Ottawa - Section de common law - Common Law Section, http://www.commonlaw.uottawa.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=294&contact_id=102&lang=en, Accessed 2006-12-30.
  7. Bruser, David (July 11, 2010). "André Marin gave contracts to friend starting in 2001". Toronto Star. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  8. "The Ontario Press Council has dismissed a complaint by Ontario's Ombudsman concerning a series of investigative stories by the Toronto Star dealing with allegations of mistreatment by members of his staff". The Toronto Star. 2011-01-21. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  9. "Volunteer firefighter convicted in drunk driving collision". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  10. "Justice David M. Paciocco". www.ontariocourts.ca. Archived from the original on 2018-03-19.
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