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Justice Michael Tulloch will join the Ontario Court of Appeal in the latest appointment to the province’s highest court — yet another accolade for the judicial wunderkind.
While friends and colleagues don’t expect this to be the last stop in his career, they’re not worried about seeing less of him.
“He’s a big-time judge, but he never misses community fundraisers,” said Toronto Deputy Police Chief Peter Sloly, who has known the judge since the 1990s when he was a street-level officer and Judge Tulloch was a Crown attorney.
He’s the first black person to be named to the court and will officially take the post on Saturday, a little more than 20 years after being called to the bar.
The announcement came days before the release of a Ryerson University study that found only 2.3% of federal judges and 10.9% of Ontario judges are visible minorities.
Judge Tulloch comes to the appeal court after a decade as a criminal and civil judge at the Superior Court of Justice, one of two Ontario trial courts.
The Federal Department of Justice announced last week he will join the 20-judge bench at the appeal court, which considers more than 1,000 cases a year.
The Supreme Court of Canada is the only court in the country with a higher ranking.
After a stint as a Crown prosecutor, Judge Tulloch moved to the private sector to build what colleagues called a successful and respected private practice.
“But he did a lot of pro bono work and he didn’t say much about it,” said Keith Forde, a former Toronto deputy police chief.
“Those who knew him knew you could call Mike and say. ‘This family here, they don’t have a lot of money.’ And Mike would say, ‘Let them call me.’ ”
Judge Tulloch’s career has also been peppered with community involvement, including a term as president of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers.
He founded a scholarship fund for disadvantaged youth and worked with federal and provincial oversight bodies on matters such as policing and legal aid.
“He’s a very busy person, but he’ll always take the time to return my calls,” said Andrew Nunes who works for a Toronto law firm, and has been close to Judge Tulloch since both their families immigrated from Jamaica.
Judge Tulloch helped mentor Mr. Nunes through law school.
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/06...urt-of-appeal/
While friends and colleagues don’t expect this to be the last stop in his career, they’re not worried about seeing less of him.
“He’s a big-time judge, but he never misses community fundraisers,” said Toronto Deputy Police Chief Peter Sloly, who has known the judge since the 1990s when he was a street-level officer and Judge Tulloch was a Crown attorney.
He’s the first black person to be named to the court and will officially take the post on Saturday, a little more than 20 years after being called to the bar.
The announcement came days before the release of a Ryerson University study that found only 2.3% of federal judges and 10.9% of Ontario judges are visible minorities.
Judge Tulloch comes to the appeal court after a decade as a criminal and civil judge at the Superior Court of Justice, one of two Ontario trial courts.
The Federal Department of Justice announced last week he will join the 20-judge bench at the appeal court, which considers more than 1,000 cases a year.
The Supreme Court of Canada is the only court in the country with a higher ranking.
After a stint as a Crown prosecutor, Judge Tulloch moved to the private sector to build what colleagues called a successful and respected private practice.
“But he did a lot of pro bono work and he didn’t say much about it,” said Keith Forde, a former Toronto deputy police chief.
“Those who knew him knew you could call Mike and say. ‘This family here, they don’t have a lot of money.’ And Mike would say, ‘Let them call me.’ ”
Judge Tulloch’s career has also been peppered with community involvement, including a term as president of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers.
He founded a scholarship fund for disadvantaged youth and worked with federal and provincial oversight bodies on matters such as policing and legal aid.
“He’s a very busy person, but he’ll always take the time to return my calls,” said Andrew Nunes who works for a Toronto law firm, and has been close to Judge Tulloch since both their families immigrated from Jamaica.
Judge Tulloch helped mentor Mr. Nunes through law school.
http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/06...urt-of-appeal/