Speaker Announcements: Justice Peter Cory and James Lockyer
Posted by Michael Edwards | Filed under Announcements, Speaker News
We are very excited to announce two new speakers for WC’09: Justice Peter Cory and James Lockyer. Both Justice Cory and Mr. Lockyer have contributed invaluably toward the correction of wrongful convictions, and we look forward to hosting them on March 7th at WC’09. Biographies below:
Peter Cory
Peter Cory was a judge of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1989 to 1999. He is past chairman of the Ontario Civil Liberties Section of the Canadian Bar Association, past president of the County of York Law Association, past National Director of the Canadian Bar Association, and past president of the Advocates’ Society. Justice Cory invaluably contributed to the acquittal of Thomas Sophonow - who had been found guilty of a murder he did not commit.
James Lockyer
James Lockyer is the founding director of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC) a national organization that advocates for justice. He has been involved in a number of high profile wrongful conviction cases and is most recently known for defending Guelph’s Steven Truscott who was acquitted by the Ontario Court of Appeal in August of the 1959 killing of Lynne Harper.
James Lockyer has been involved in exposing more than ten wrongful convictions in Canada, including the cases of Guy Paul Morin, David Milgaard, Clayton Johnson and Gregory Parsons. Several of these cases have become the subject of public inquiries. Mr. Lockyer has received an honorary doctorate of laws from University of Guelph in February 2007. Before moving into private practice as a criminal lawyer, he taught law at McGill University and the University of Windsor.