Robert P. Armstrong

Robert Patrick Armstrong QC (born March 7, 1938) is a Canadian lawyer and retired judge. He served on the Court of Appeal for Ontario from 2002 until his retirement in 2013. Before serving on the bench, Armstrong was a partner at Torys and was lead counsel in the Dubin Inquiry on steroid use in Canadian sports. After leaving the bench, Armstrong joined Arbitration Place, a Canadian group specializing in alternative dispute resolution.

The Honourable

Robert P. Armstrong

QC
Justice Armstrong in 2017
Justice of the Court of Appeal for Ontario
In office
January 2002 – March 2013
56th Treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada
In office
1999–2001
Preceded byHarvey Thomas Strosberg
Succeeded byVern Krishna
Personal details
Born
Robert Patrick Armstrong

(1938-03-07) March 7, 1938
EducationCarleton University (BA)
University of Toronto (MA, LLB)
Law Society of Upper Canada (LLD, honoris causa)

Early life and career

Armstrong was born on March 7, 1938.[1] He was a student at Carleton University, the University of Toronto, and the London School of Economics. He earned his LLB from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law in 1965 and was called to the bar two years later in 1967.[2] Armstrong began practicing law with Kimber, Dubin in Toronto.[3]

Armstrong joined Torys in Toronto in 1972, where he would stay until his 2002 appointment to the Ontario Court of Appeal.[2] Armstrong became a partner at Torys in 1973, and was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1978.[3]

Armstrong was commission counsel in the 1981 Grange Commission on Railway Safety, which was formed to study the 1979 Mississauga train derailment.[3][4][5] According to the Los Angeles Times, Armstrong's "tenacious grilling" of witnesses in the Grange Commission bolstered his reputation.[6]

Armstrong served as lead counsel for the 1989 Dubin Inquiry, a federal inquiry launched after Ben Johnson's doping scandal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.[7] Armstrong worked with his mentor Justice Charles Dubin, the chair of the inquiry, to guide the testimony of witnesses such as Ben Johnson, Angella Taylor-Issajenko, Charlie Francis about the extent of their anabolic steroid use and how they avoided discovery. The inquiry recommended random, unannounced drug-testing of athletes to deter the use of anabolic steroids.[7][8]

Armstrong has appeared in important cases including the 1995 case of Hill v. Church of Scientology of Toronto in the Supreme Court of Canada.[3][9]

Armstrong was a bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada from 1995 to 2002 and the 56th Treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada from 1999 to 2001.[10] He is also a former member of the Board of Regents of the American College of Trial Lawyers,[11] and the former president of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Legal Studies.[12][3]

Ontario Court of Appeal

Armstrong was appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal on January 25, 2002.[2][3] He was one of the last judges on the Court of Appeal to not have previously held a judicial position, which was previously a widespread practice for federal appointments.[13] In October 2002, Armstrong was awarded a Doctor of Law (LLD) honorary degree by the Law Society of Upper Canada for his contributions to Canadian law.[3][14]

In December 2008, Armstrong wrote the majority decision upholding a lower court's decision that unions cannot force courts to enforce fines it imposes on its members who cross picket lines. Armstrong, with Justice Paul Rouleau concurring, found that the union's constitution created a power imbalance with its members, making it unconscionable for the court to enforce the fines. Armstrong's colleague, Justice Russell G. Juriansz, dissented saying that the imbalance of power had not been abused and the workers were always free to leave the union.[15][16] The union in the case applied for leave to appeal the case to the Supreme Court of Canada, but the application was dismissed with costs.[17]

In February 2009, Armstrong wrote a decision holding that a defendant had correctly been found guilty of criminal harassment even though there was no previous contact and there was only a single incident, unlike the repetitive nature of traditional stalking cases. Armstrong wrote that this was because the defendant's actions – jumping out of a bush at the complainant and chasing her down a street – were "highly threatening and persistent" and had caused the complainant to reasonably fear for her safety.[18][19][20] The defendant's application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court was dismissed.[21]

In February 2013, Armstrong, supported by the other two Court of Appeal judges hearing the case, dismissed the appeal in R v Fearon. Armstrong wrote that Fearon's right to privacy was not violated because a cellphone without password protection can be searched by police during an arrest without a warrant.[22][23] Armstrong's decision was appealed to the Supreme Court, which dismissed the appeal in a 4–3 decision in 2014.[24]

Armstrong became a supernumerary judge for the court in September 2012, and was replaced as a full-time judge by Peter Lauwers from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.[25] Armstrong retired in March 2013 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75.[1][3][26]

Post-judicial career

A year after retiring from the Court of Appeal in 2013, Armstrong joined Arbitration Place, a Canadian arbitration firm,[27] as a resident arbitrator and mediator.[28] Armstrong was also a  Distinguished Visiting Jurist for the 2013 – 2014 school year at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.[29]

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References
  1. "2013-0058". www.pco-bcp.gc.ca. Privy Council Office. January 31, 2013. Archived from the original on 2017-10-06. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  2. Moore, Christopher (2014). The Court of Appeal for Ontario: Defining the Right of Appeal in Canada, 1792–2013. University of Toronto Press. p. 213. ISBN 9781442650145.
  3. "Brief Biographical Note of Justice Robert P. Armstrong (Retired March 7, 2013)". Archived from the original on October 16, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  4. "Another Rail Disaster Bound to Happen". www.pressreader.com. The Toronto Star. March 2, 2012. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  5. Williams, Rachael (January 26, 2017). "'Culture of secrecy' surrounds transportation of hazardous materials | InsideToronto.com". InsideToronto.com. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  6. Harvey, Randy (March 1, 1989). "Canadian Drug Inquiry Reaches Crucial Phase". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  7. Ormsby, Mary; Hall, Joseph (September 24, 2008). "Ben Johnson scandal still haunts track world". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  8. Janofsky, Michael (September 18, 1989). "Canadian Inquiry May Be a First Step". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  9. "Hill v. Church of Scientology of Toronto, [1995] 2 S.C.R. 1130". Archived from the original on September 7, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  10. "The Law Society of Upper Canada, List of Law Society Treasurers". Lsuc.on.ca. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  11. "Former Regents". www.actl.com. American College of Trial Lawyers. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  12. 2006, Ray Allen -. "Canadian Institute for Advanced Legal Studies". www.canadian-institute.com. Retrieved October 6, 2017.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. Fine, Sean (December 16, 2014). "Tories appoint two conservative law professors as judges". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  14. "MINUTES OF SPECIAL CONVOCATION, Toronto, Thursday, 3rd October, 2002, 2:30 p.m." (PDF). Law Society of Upper Canada. October 3, 2002. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  15. Brown, Louise (December 4, 2017). "Court won't enforce fines for crossing picket lines". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  16. "Birch v. Union of Taxation Employees, Local 70030, 2008 ONCA 809 (CanLII)". CanLII. December 3, 2008. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  17. "Union of Taxation Employees Local 70030 v. Jeffrey Birch and April Luberti, 2009 CanLII 23090 (SCC)". CanLII. May 7, 2009.
  18. Tyler, Tracey (February 3, 2009). "Lone incident ruled enough for criminal harassment". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  19. Walter, Karena (February 4, 2009). "Harassment sentence reduced". St. Catharines Standard. Archived from the original on 2017-10-06. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  20. "R. v. Kohl, 2009 ONCA 100 (CanLII)". CanLII. February 2, 2002. Archived from the original on 2015-05-06. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  21. "Kohl v. Her Majesty the Queen, 2009 CanLII 31957 (SCC)". CanLII. June 18, 2009. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  22. Small, Peter (February 20, 2013). "Privacy rights: Police can search unprotected cellphone without warrant, appeal court rules". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  23. "R. v. Fearon, 2013 ONCA 106 (CanLII)". CanLII. February 20, 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-09-20. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  24. "R. v. Fearon, [2014] 3 SCR 621, 2014 SCC 77 (CanLII)". CanLII. December 11, 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-02-10. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  25. Kauth, Glenn (December 17, 2012). "Feds appoint six lawyers to bench". Canadian Lawyers Magazine. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  26. Tyler, Tracey (May 24, 2011). "Ontario's top court could get Harper make-over". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  27. Middlemiss, Jim (March 19, 2014). "Life after the bench: Retired judges embrace ADR". Financial Post. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  28. "The Honourable Robert P. Armstrong, Q.C." Arbitration Place. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  29. "The Honourable Robert P. Armstrong, Q.C. | Centre for the Legal Profession". clp.law.utoronto.ca. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
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