Kent Roach is a professor of law at the

University of Toronto Faculty of Law The University of Toronto Faculty of Law (U of T Law, UToronto Law) is the law school of the University of Toronto. The Faculty's admissions process is the most selective of law schools in Canada and is one of the most selective in North America. ...

. He is well known for his expertise and writings on criminal law, the ''

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part ...

'', and more recently anti-terrorism law. He is a graduate of the university and served as a law clerk to Justice Bertha Wilson of the Supreme Court of Canada. Roach is a recipient of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Fellowship (2013). He was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2015.

Career

Roach studied

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

as an undergraduate student in the 1980s at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

. He studied under Peter H. Russell, the research director on the

Royal Commission of Inquiry into Certain Activities of the RCMP The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Certain Activities of the RCMP, better known as the McDonald Commission, was a Royal Commission called by the Canadian government of Pierre Trudeau to investigate the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after a num ...

, and completed his undergraduate thesis in 1984 on the then-newly created

Canadian Security Intelligence Service The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS, ; french: Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité, ''SCRS'') is Canada's primary national intelligence agency. It is responsible for collecting, analysing, reporting and disseminating int ...

. Roach served as director of research for the public inquiry investigating

Air India Flight 182 Air India Flight 182 was an Air India flight operating on the Montreal–London–Delhi–Bombay route. On 23 June 1985, it was operated using Boeing 747-237B registered ''VT-EFO''. It disintegrated in mid-air en route from Montreal to Lond ...

and was also on the research advisory committee for the inquiry on

Maher Arar Maher Arar ( ar, ماهر عرار) (born 1970) is a telecommunications engineer with dual Syrian and Canadian citizenship who has resided in Canada since 1987. Arar was detained during a layover at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Septem ...

's case. Professor Roach's current research involves the comparative study of

miscarriages of justice A miscarriage of justice occurs when a grossly unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Inno ...

, comparative

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incomp ...

and comparative

anti-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or ...

law and policy. He is the editor-in-chief of the ''Criminal Law Quarterly'', and member of the advisory committee for both the Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to

and the Ipperwash Inquiry into the killing of Dudley George. His book ''Canadian Policing: Why and How It Must Change'' was a nominee for the 2022

Balsillie Prize for Public Policy The Balsillie Prize for Public Policy is an annual Canadian literary award, presented to honour the year's best non-fiction work on public policy issues. Created in 2021, the award is presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada, and sponsored by tech ...

.Cassandra Drudi
"Finalists named for 2022 Balsillie Prize for Public Policy"
''

Quill & Quire ''Quill & Quire'' is a Canadian magazine about the book and publishing industry. The magazine was launched in 1935 and has an average circulation of 5,000 copies per issue, with a publisher-claimed readership of 25,000. ''Quill & Quire'' reviews ...

'', September 28, 2022.

Select publications

* ''Canadian Justice, Indigenous Injustice: The Gerald Stanley and Colton Boushie Case''. McGill University Press, 2019 *''Criminal Law and Procedure: Cases and Materials'' Emond Montgomery Publications, 11th ed, 2015 * ''Criminal Law'' Irwin Law, 3rd ed, 2004 * ''Brian Dickson: A Judge's Journey'' University of Toronto Press, 2003 (with Robert Sharpe) * ''The Supreme Court on Trial: Judicial Activism or Democratic Dialogue'', Toronto, Irwin Law, 2001

References

External links

Kent Roach - University of Toronto - Faculty of LawKent Roach at McGill discussing the Royal Prerogative and Omar Khadr
Canadian legal scholars Clerks of the Supreme Court of Canada Living people University of Toronto Faculty of Law faculty University of Toronto Faculty of Law alumni Members of the Order of Canada Yale Law School alumni Year of birth missing (living people) {{Canada-law-bio-stub