Robert Sharpe (judge)
{{Short description|Canadian jurist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}{{Use Canadian English|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Robert James Sharpe
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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1945|12|04}}
| birth_place = Brantford, Ontario
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| other_names =
| known_for = Judge of the Court of Appeal for Ontario
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Robert James Sharpe, OC, FRSC (born December 4, 1945) is a Canadian lawyer, author, academic, and judge. He was dean of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law from 1990 to 1995 and a judge of the Court of Appeal for Ontario from 1999 to 2020.
Early life
Robert James Sharpe was born on December 4, 1945, in Brantford, Ontario,{{Cite web|title=Sharpe, Robert J. 1945–|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/sharpe-robert-j-1945|access-date=2021-09-22|website=Contemporary Authors}} to Eleanor Jane (Cooper) and Ira Sutherland Sharpe.{{Cite book|title=Canadian Who's Who, 1993|publisher=University of Toronto Press|year=1993|isbn=978-0-8020-4670-3|editor-last=Simpson|editor-first=Kieran|volume=28|page=1008|language=en|oclc=29741010}} He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Ontario in 1966, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Toronto in 1970, and a DPhil from the University of Oxford in 1974.
Legal career
He was called to the bar of Ontario in 1974 and practised law with the firm of MacKinnon, McTaggart (later McTaggart, Potts, Stone & Herridge) in the area of civil litigation. He taught at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law from 1976 to 1988. From 1988 to 1990, he was the Executive Legal Officer at the Supreme Court of Canada under Chief Justice Brian Dickson. From 1990 to 1995, he was the Dean of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.{{Cite web|title=Robert J. Sharpe|url=https://www.law.utoronto.ca/faculty-staff/distinguished-visitors/robert-j-sharpe|access-date=2021-09-22|publisher=University of Toronto Faculty of Law}} In 1995, he was appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice (General Division) (now the Superior Court of Justice). In 1999, he was appointed to the Court of Appeal for Ontario.{{cite web|url=http://www.ontariocourts.on.ca/coa/en/judges/sharpe.htm|title=Brief Biographical Note of Justice Robert J. Sharpe}} From 2011 to 2021, he was Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford.{{Cite web |date=16 July 2015 |title=Robert Sharpe |url=https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/people/robert-sharpe}} Sharpe retired from the judiciary on February 28, 2020.{{Cite web|last1=Strathy|first1=George R.|date=2020-09-22|title=Opening of the Courts of Ontario for 2020 - Additional Remarks|url=http://uat.ontariocourts.ca/coa/about-the-court/archives/opening-of-the-courts-2020-additional-remarks/|access-date=2021-09-22|publisher=Court of Appeal for Ontario}}
After leaving the bench, he joined Arbitration Place{{Cite web |title=The Honourable Robert J. Sharpe - Arbitration Place |url=https://www.arbitrationplace.com/robert-sharpe}} and rejoined the University of Toronto Faculty of Law as Distinguished Jurist in Residence.{{Cite web |title=Robert J. Sharpe {{!}} University of Toronto Faculty of Law |url=https://www.law.utoronto.ca/faculty-staff/distinguished-visitors/robert-j-sharpe |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=www.law.utoronto.ca}} He was President of the [https://www.canadian-institute.com/ Canadian Institute for Advanced Legal Studies] from 2014 to 2020, and is currently the President of the [https://www.osgoodesociety.ca/ Osgoode Society for Legal History.]
= Selected works =
- The Law of Habeas Corpus (1976)
- [https://store.thomsonreuters.ca/en-ca/products/injunctions-and-specific-performance-print--proview-30848232 Injunctions and Specific Performance] (1983) (Canadian Bar Association’s [https://cflr-fcrj.ca/walter-owen-book-prize/ Walter Owen Book Prize]) (5th ed, 2017)
- Charter Litigation (1987) (Editor)
- [https://www.osgoodesociety.ca/book/the-last-day-the-last-hour-the-currie-libel-trial-2/ The Last Day, The Last Hour: The Currie Libel Trial] (1988)
- [https://irwinlaw.com/product/the-charter-of-rights-and-freedoms-7th-edition/ The Charter of Rights and Freedoms (with Kent Roach)] (7th ed 2021)
- [https://www.osgoodesociety.ca/book/brian-dickson-a-judges-journey/ Brian Dickson: A Judge’s Journey (with Kent Roach)] (2003) ([https://dafoefoundation.ca/book-prize/ John Wesley Dafoe Prize])
- [https://www.osgoodesociety.ca/book/the-persons-case-the-origins-and-legacy-of-the-fight-for-legal-personhood/ The Persons Case: The Origins and Legacy of the Fight for Legal Personhood (with Patricia McMahon)] (2007) (Canadian Law and Society Book Prize)
- [https://www.osgoodesociety.ca/book/the-lazier-murder-prince-edward-county-1884/ The Lazier Murder: Prince Edward County, 1884] (2011) (Ontario Historical Association Fred Landon Book Prize)
- [https://utorontopress.com/9781487522438/good-judgment/ Good Judgment: Making Judicial Decisions] (2018)
= Notable judgments =
In 2001, Robert Sharpe wrote the [https://www.metisnation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/r-v-powley-2001-canlii-24181-onca.pdf reasons of the Ontario Court of Appeal that recognized the distinctive legal rights of Métis people].[https://www.metisnation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/r-v-powley-2001-canlii-24181-onca.pdf
In November 2007, the Toronto Star reported that "In a decision [written by Justice Sharpe on behalf of a panel comprising himself and Justices Karen Weiler and Robert Blair
In 2012, he wrote the Ontario Court of Appeal's decision that established the right to sue for invasion of privacy.{{Cite web |title=Jones v. Tsige, 2012 ONCA 32 |url=https://www.ontariocourts.ca/decisions/2012/2012ONCA0032.htm |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=www.ontariocourts.ca}}
Honours and awards
Sharpe was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1991. He was awarded the Ontario Bar Association Distinguished Service Award in 2005,{{Cite web |title=OBA Distinguished Service Award |url=https://www.oba.org/About-US/About-Us/Awards/Association-Awards/Distinguished-Service |website=Ontario Bar Association}} and in 2008 he was awarded the Mundell Medal which celebrates excellence in legal writing by Ontario authors who have made a distinguished contribution to law and letters.{{Cite web |title=Mundell Medal |url=https://www.ontario.ca/page/mundell-medal |access-date=30 June 2023 |website=Government of Ontario}}
In 2021, he received honorary doctorate degrees from the Law Society of Ontario and the University of Windsor. And in 2020 he was recognized with a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.{{Cite web |date=16 May 2016 |title=U of T Law honours four outstanding members: 2020 Faculty of Law Alumni Awards |url=https://www.law.utoronto.ca/news/uoft-law-honours-four-outstanding-members |access-date=30 June 2023 |website=University of Toronto Faculty of Law}}
Sharpe was appointed to the Order of Canada in June 2023, with the rank of Officer.{{Cite web |date=June 30, 2023 |title=Order of Canada appointees – June 2023 |url=https://www.gg.ca/en/order-canada-appointees-june-2023 |access-date=June 30, 2023 |website=The Governor General of Canada}}
References
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Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford
Category:Canadian legal writers
Category:Canadian university and college faculty deans
Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
Category:Justices of the Court of Appeal for Ontario
Category:Writers from Brantford
Category:Academic staff of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law
Category:University of Western Ontario alumni
Category:University of Toronto Faculty of Law alumni