‘He’ll bring brilliance’: Michael Tulloch becomes first Black Chief Justice of Ontario

Colleagues describe Tulloch, who was appointed by Trudeau on Monday, as a fair and brilliant jurist with an ‘uncanny ability’ to connect with people.

Thestar.com
Dec. 21, 2022
Jacques Gallant

When Michael Tulloch was a young Crown attorney appearing before Justice Patrick LeSage in Brampton in the early 1990s, the judge was so impressed that he sent Tulloch’s boss a note.

“I know I said to a number of people how good he was, how fair he was, how balanced he was, and how wise he was for a young man … and I forwarded a note to his superior just saying more or less what I just said to you,” said LeSage, who went on to become chief justice of the Ontario Superior Court and is now retired.

“And then over the years our paths would cross, and I watched his career and I continued to be impressed.”

Tulloch would go on to become a judge on the Superior Court and then on the Ontario Court of Appeal, becoming the first Black appellate judge in Canada.

On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tulloch as the next president of the Court of the Appeal and Chief Justice of Ontario, the first Black person to hold the top job. He replaces Chief Justice George Strathy, who retired in August.

Described as a fair and brilliant jurist with experience as both a prosecutor and defence lawyer, who cares deeply about giving back to his community, Tulloch’s appointment drew immediate praise.

“I think he’ll bring diversity for one thing, and I think he’ll bring brilliance. He’s a very astute and brilliant gentleman,” said Toronto entrepreneur and civil rights activist Denham Jolly, who has known Tulloch for over 30 years.

Saying that Black people in the justice system have been “maligned and given the short end of the stick,” Jolly said Tulloch’s appointment “will send the message that there’s going to be fairness, as much as it’s in his ability.”

Born in Jamaica, Tulloch received his law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School and was admitted to the Ontario bar in 1991. He practised as a Crown attorney and then as a criminal defence lawyer prior to his appointment to Superior Court in 2003.

He was tapped by the previous Liberal provincial government to lead two major reviews on police oversight and police street checks, also known as carding.

His report on police oversight recommended far greater transparency from the Special Investigations Unit, the civilian watchdog that investigates police-involved deaths, at a time when full SIU reports into incidents were kept hidden from public view.

“The people of Ontario are entitled and deserve to know that, when it comes to the operation of police services in the province, justice is not only done, but is seen to be done,” Tulloch said when he released his report in 2017.

He recommended in 2018 that random street checks, where police would stop individuals and gather personal information, should be banned, finding the practice wasn’t very useful at preventing crime while disproportionately impacting racialized people.

“Those reports were essential reading for anyone who practises in the justice system, and it shows he has a keen understanding of how police interact with the public and how that can impact our confidence in the justice system,” said lawyer Daniel Brown, president of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association.

Tulloch is not an “ivory tower kind of person,” said lawyer Danielle Robitaille, who was lead counsel on the police oversight review, where she said she got a sense of Tulloch’s deep humanity.

“He had this uncanny ability to connect with such a wide array of stakeholders,” she said. “He could make himself completely approachable in meetings involving police unions, and also meetings involving mothers of sons who had been shot dead by police.

“He was there to convey through his emotional intelligence that he was there to listen and to understand.”

Understanding and dealing with anti-Black racism is “one of the biggest challenges” facing the justice system, and Tulloch through his work “has begun us on a path of understanding and change,” said University of Windsor law professor David Tanovich in an email.

“With the stature of the position of Chief Justice, he will hopefully now have the clout to motivate all relevant actors to commit to understanding and take meaningful steps to ameliorate the corrosive effects of racism,” Tanovich said.

“I am hopeful that he will inspire more Black students, especially Black male students, to apply to law school. I am also hopeful that with his leadership and mentorship that we will see more Black lawyers applying to the bench.”

Outside of his work in courts, Tulloch co-founded the Second Chance Scholarship Foundation, to help young people who have come into conflict with the law complete post-secondary education.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am, and I’m not exaggerating,” said foundation president Rick Gosling, who has worked with Tulloch for over 30 years. “What’s so important is that the kids see themselves, and the community see themselves, on the bench like this in such a prominent role.”

As Tulloch prepares to take on his new role, LeSage has one main piece of advice, from one chief justice to another.

“Listen, listen, listen,” he said, both in terms of the litigants and colleagues. “And Michael does that very well. I believe he will continue doing that, and he will be a very, very good chief justice.”