Court of Appeal for Ontario
The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal or ONCA) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto, also the seat of the Law Societ ...
in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. Paciocco has authored several books on criminal law and is considered one of Canada's foremost experts on the law of
evidence
Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field.
In epistemology, evidenc ...
.
Career
Paciocco completed his undergraduate degree at the
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...
and a master's degree in law from the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
. Paciocco was hired by the
University of Ottawa Faculty of Law
The University of Ottawa Faculty of Law (''French: Faculté de droit de l'Université d'Ottawa)'' is the law school at the University of Ottawa, located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1953, the Faculty is today divided into Civil Law a ...
in 1982 and was called to the Ontario bar in 1983. He was a member of the legal team that defended the
Canadian Red Cross
The Canadian Red Cross Society ()tainted blood scandal. From 1994 to 1998, Paciocco was counsel in private practice. Paciocco also later taught at the
University of Windsor Faculty of Law
The Faculty of Law is a Faculty (division), faculty of the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The first class of students matriculated in 1968, and the current building was opened in 1970. The Faculty has grown i ...
. 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. In June 2005, Paciocco was nominated to receive an
Honorary Doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
from
Laurentian University
Laurentian University (french: Université Laurentienne), officially the Laurentian University of Sudbury, is a mid-sized Bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public university in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, incorporated on March 28, 1960. Lau ...
.
In 2010 a
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
investigation revealed that since becoming the ombudsman for the Canadian military in 2001 and then Ontario Ombudsman in 2005,
André Marin
André Marin is a lawyer who served as Ontario ombudsman from 2005 to 2015.
Personal
Marin is a graduate of Carleton University (BA 1985) and University of Ottawa (LLL 1988, JD 1989).
Career
After graduating from law school, Marin became an ass ...
had awarded Paciocco over $250,000 in untendered government contracts. Marin and Paciocco complained about the article to the
Ontario Press Council The Ontario Press Council was a voluntary media adjudication body which investigates complaints about newspapers in Ontario, Canada. On September 1, 2015, it was amalgamated into the newly formed National Newsmedia Council.
History
The council wa ...
, which upheld with the complaint, finding the implications to be unfounded.
Judge
In 2011, Paciocco was appointed a judge of the
Ontario Court of Justice
The Ontario Court of Justice is the provincial court of record for the Canadian province of Ontario. The court sits at more than 200 locations across the province and oversees matters relating to family law, criminal law, and provincial offences. ...
for the
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
region. In 2014, Paciocco struck down the Government of Canada's mandatory victim surcharge, finding that it amounted to cruel and unusual punishment. Ontario prosecutors appealed the decision, but later dropped it after a ruling by Justice Bruce Glass of the
Ontario Superior Court of Justice
The Superior Court of Justice (French: ''Cour supérieure de justice'') is a superior court in Ontario. The Court sits in 52 locations across the province, including 17 Family Court locations, and consists of over 300 federally appointed judges.
...
upheld the mandatory victim surcharge. 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.
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.
On April 7, 2017, Paciocco was elevated to the
Court of Appeal for Ontario
The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal or ONCA) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto, also the seat of the Law Societ ...