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  • Selwyn Pieters is accepting new clients for education law, civil litigation, human rights, and criminal law matters. Selwyn has undertaken cases ranging from Election disputes through to media law, human rights and prisoners’ rights. He has particular expertise in cross-disciplinary/insecting litigating matters, with the ability to handle issues of public law, Education law, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law and labour and Employment law. Selwyn has experience in advocacy at all levels of Courts and Tribunals in Canada.
  • March 06, 2012: Application for Leave to Appeal filed in the Court of Appeal seeking leave in the Divisional Court matter of Peel Law Association v. Pieters, 2012 ONSC 1048
  • July 2011: Litigating the Emery Collegiate case six years later - the tactics of TDSB lawyers that generated several decisions J.B. and C.F. v. Toronto District School Board: 2011 HRTO 1304; 2011 HRTO 1162; 2011 HRTO 994; 2010 HRTO 1228; 2009 HRTO 1030 (CanLII) Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario; B. (K.) (Litigation Guardian of) v. Toronto District School Board; 2008 CarswellOnt 455 (SCJ).
  • July 2011 - The Preliminary Inquiries in Project Corral - the mega gang arrest in Toronto is being conducted at Old City Hall before Justices Brown and Khawly.

  • March 11, 2011: significant decision on YCJA criminaland police records for use in civil and human rights litigation: R.M. v. TPSB, 2011 ONCJ 143

  • March 11, 2011: Windsor Law School Panel discussion "Data Collection & Human Rights Objectives: Are policing agencies fulfilling their obligations?"

  • March 11, 2011: Selwyn Pieters named The Lawyers Weekly, Lawyer of the Week!

  • December 2010: Black lawyers, racially profiled in law library at courthouse in front of OHRC lawyers, win $2000 each in damages: Noble v. Peel Law Association, 2010 HRTO 2411

  • October 2010, the dump trucks are now going to have toget written instructions before they plea their clients guilty: R. v. Wright
    2010 CarswellOntario 8108 "Very rarely does a good lawyer ever allows a client to plea guilty without haveing written instructions."
  • September 2010, obtained acquittal after trial for assaulting police wit intent to prevent arrest in R. v. Taylor, based on cellphone video that contradicted the officers testimony.
  • August 2010, targetting the human rights violations of the Toronto Police Service associated with the unlawful collection, storage, retention and dissemination of information gathered through Field Information Reports on young Black males.
  • June 2010 Successful resisted MCSCS lawyers jurisdictional motion for dismissal of part of the complaint in Steele v. Ontario, 2010 HRTO 1248 (CanLII) Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario - a case of racism in Ontario's jails.
  • May 2010, represented the family of Junior Alexander Manon at the Coroner re his death in police custody.
  • February 2010: Our client was a student at a GTA area school. She filed a HRTO Applicant based on race discrimination. We were able to secure a very reasonable settlement for our client.
  • February 2010: Presented at the Black Law Students Association of Canada, 19th Annual Conference
    Theme: "Partnering for progress and unprecedented possibilities" and a CRARR event on racial profiling.
  • January 2010: A complaint was filed by an employee of a medical Regulatory Agency on the basis of racial discrimination and harassment at the HRTO. We were able to secure a favorable settlement for our client.
  • December 2009: Our client sued a law firm for malpractice based one of its lawyers stringing clients along with phantom cases, we secured a sizable settlement from the insurer.
  • December 17, 2009, appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada in Attorney General of Ontario v. Michael J. Fraser on his own behalf and on behalf of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Canada, et al., 32968 for oral argument on behalf of J4MW and IAVGO.
  • December 11, 2009, appeared before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario to argue a important racial profiling case involving the Peel Law Association (Brampton Courthouse).
  • Selwyn provided representation to Oriel Varga one of the University of Toronto's fourteen students charged with forcible confinement and forcible detainer after a demonstration at Simco Hall. See, John Bonnar, Students and community demand charges against U of T 'Fight Fees 2, Rabble.ca , ‎August 5, 2009‎; Master's student earns top marks for dissent, Globe and Mail, 22 June 2008. The charges in R. v. Ramsaroop and Varga was stayed on September 10, 2009 by Justice Reinhardt. See also, Tamara Baluja "Charges stayed in University of Toronto sit-in", Toronto Star, September 11, 2009.
  • Students are still be suspended and expelled in record numbers, the Toronto Star looks at the correlation between this and incarceration rates: Rankin, Jim and Contenta, Sandro, School, Interrupted, part 1 of 3: Lingering in limbo, Toronto Star, June 06, 2009; Are schools too quick to suspend? Sandro Contenta Jim Rankin, June 08, 2009 and Students thrown into limbo
    Metro Canada, June 4, 2009;
  • Recently successfully resolved F. (K.) v. Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board.
  • Successfully defended a Youth in R. v. F. (C.); 2009 CarswellOnt 3034, a case where Mr. C. F., who was charged with committing an assault on a teacher at a local high school, on January 28th, year 2008, by confronting and intentionally bumping into him.... result acquitted...
  • Successfully defended Richard Steele in a case where he faced four counts of assault with a weapon; failure to comply with recognizance, weapons dangerous; fail to comply with probation.....
  • Recently got client R. v. R.S. charges of failure to comply with recognizance because the police alleged that he was not in school each and every class withdrawn...
  • Selwyn Pieters is providing representation in Court on Project Feline (one of those drug stings that took down 20 persons).
  • Selwyn is providing representation to a young person who was the intended target of a shooting at Bendale Business and Technical School in Toronto.
  • Successfully represented Toronto (Don) Jail guard in racial harassment matter: Charlton v. Ontario (Ministry of Community Safety & Correctional Services) 2007 CarswellOnt 4099.
  • Successfully represented Dan Freeman-Maloy (co-counsel with Peter Rosenthal) in the Ontario Court of Appeal. See, Freeman-Maloy v. Marsden (Ontario Court of Appeal, March 31, 2006), overturning Hoy J. decision in Freeman-Maloy v. Marsden [2005] O.J. No. 1730 (S.C.J.). Leave to Appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada denied with costs.
  • The Honourable Sinclair Stevens v. The Conservative Party of Canada, [2005] F.C.J. No. 1890, 2005 FCA 383, [2006] 2 F.C.R. 315, (2005) 262 D.L.R. (4th) 532, (2005) 343 N.R. 275, 2005 CarswellNat 3774, 2005 CarswellNat 3775, (2005) 143 A.C.W.S. (3d) 1029 (Fed. C.A.) (2005-11-17) 1v. to S.C.C. dismissed [2006] S.C.C.A. No. 12
  • Bangoura v. Washington Post [2005] O.J. No. 3849, (2005) 258 D.L.R. (4th) 341, (2005) 202 O.A.C. 76, (2005) 17 C.P.C. (6th) 30, (2005) 142 A.C.W.S. (3d) 247, 2005 CarswellOnt 4343 (Ont.C.A.) (defamation - jurisdiction), [2005] O.J. No. 5428, (2005) 206 O.A.C. 325, (2005) 20 C.P.C. (6th) 178, (2005) 144 A.C.W.S. (3d) 615, 2005 CarswellOnt 7304 (costs), 1v. to S.C.C. dismissed [2005] S.C.C.A. No. 497
  • Selwyn was appointed Co-counsel on R. v. Johnson Aziga, charged with 2 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of aggravated sexual assault. See, R. v. Aziga [2008] O.J. No. 2431, 78 W.C.B. (2d) 87; R. v. Aziga; 2008 CarswellOnt 4300 and R. v. Aziga [2008] O.J. No. 3052, 78 W.C.B. (2d) 410. Aziga was found guilty of 2 counts of first degree murder, 10 counts of aggravated sexual assault and 1 count of attempted aggravated sexual assault.
  • Representation in serious criminal matters including question of legal aid, and the denied funding for counsel: see, R. v. Imona-Russel 2008 CarswellOnt 7548, [2008] O.J. No. 5405 (ON S.C.); refused leave to appeal R. v. Imona-Russel (2009), 2009 CarswellOnt 3392, 2009 CarswellOnt 3391, Abella J., McLachlin C.J.C., Rothstein J. (S.C.C.).

  • Selwyn was quoted in various press on various matters: Adrian Humphreys, Tsk tsk, Obama spoke too soon
    National Post, July 24, 2009‎; Black, Canadian and rooting for Obama Toronto Star, May 12, 2008 and disbarred lawyer Jonathan Strug - Lawyer strung clients along with phantom cases, By Robert Todd, Law Times, 12 May 2008; Customs to gather racial data, Globe and Mail, December 16, 2002

Welcome

This law firm focuses on education law, civil litigation, human rights, inquests, administrative and public law, police law and criminal law.

Our goal is the passionate pursuit of truth, social justice, equity and human rights through grass root community work and fearless advocacy. We achieve this goal by providing the highest quality legal services to you in an effective and efficient manner. Honesty, integrity and professionalism are our watch words. We invite you to talk with us about how we may be of service to you.

Selwyn currently practices law in downtown Toronto at Pieters Law Office, Adelaide Place, DBRS Tower, 181 University Avenue, Suite 2200, Toronto, Ontario, where about 25 independent lawyers share space and resources in a professional office setting not unlike that of a medium-sized law firm.

Selwyn is also planning to expand his practice to the Caribbean and has recently completed that Transition program for Foreign Trained Lawyers at Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad.

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Selwyn A. Pieters

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Selwyn A. Pieters - Barrister & Solicitor; 2009 All rights reserved.