in-custody/toll-free: (844) 868-1825
tel: (416) 868-1825
fax: (416) 868-1826
email: pcopeland@petercopeland.com
150 King Street West, Suite 200
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 1J9
University of Toronto
LL.B., 1995
University of Toronto
B.Sc. (Hons), Physics, 1992
Ontario, 1998
Criminal Lawyers' Association, Member
Toronto Lawyers' Association, Member
Peter maintains a trial and appellate practice in criminal law and related matters. He regularly appears before every level of court in Ontario. Peter handles all types of criminal cases, from common assault and drinking and driving to homicide matters. He has a particular interest in cases involving complex legal issues or expert scientific or technical evidence in areas including accident reconstruction, medical causation, and computer forensics.
In addition to his criminal law practice, Peter represents lawyers and paralegals in relation to complaints and discipline matters before the Law Society of Upper Canada. Further, he appears on behalf of individuals in hearings before the Ontario Review Board and in appeals from dispositions imposed by the Board.
Peter is a member of Legal Aid Ontario's Complex Case and Extremely Serious Matters panels. He accepts legal aid in relation to serious cases at the trial and appellate level, as well as in mental health matters. As a member of the Pro Bono Inmate Appeal Program, he appears before the Court of Appeal for Ontario and argues appeals on behalf of unrepresented indigent individuals.
Peter has lectured and presented papers at continuing legal education programs and conferences held by various organizations including the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, Osgoode Professional Development, the Advocates’ Society, the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Ontario Bar Association.
Robbery convictions overturned due to misapprehension of evidence by the trial judge: R. v. Ali, 2023 ONCA 411
First-degree murder conviction overturned and new trial ordered due to errors in jury instructions that improperly linked verdicts on separate counts and failed to leave included offences for consideration: R. v. Pan, 2023 ONCA 362
Additional credit for pre-sentence custody granted: R. v. Khansaiyasith, 2023 ONCA 318.
Court of Appeal overturns adult sentences for young persons found guilty of murder and imposes youth sentences with intensive rehabilitative custody and supervision: R. v. M.W., 2017 ONCA 22 (Crown application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed: SCC Case No. 37480)
Firearms and robbery convictions overturned due to errors in jury instructions relating to party liability: R. v. Kennedy, 2016 ONCA 879
Crown appeal dismissed as Court of Appeal holds that review board did not owe Crown a common law duty of procedural fairness prior to adding privileges to proposed disposition: Re Kachkar, 2014 ONCA 250
Intervention on behalf of the Criminal Lawyers' Association in appeal relating to the co-conspirators hearsay exception: R. v. Puddicombe, 2013 ONCA 506
Firearms convictions overturned and new trial ordered due to errors in relation to evidence of good character, bad character and narrative: R. v. Tash, 2013 ONCA 380
Murder conviction overturned and new trial ordered due to errors in jury instructions relating to hearsay and post-offence conduct: R. v. Martin, 2013 ONCA 21
Surrender order quashed as Court of Appeal holds that Minister of Justice must consider Gladue principles in deciding whether to extradite aboriginal Canadians: United States v. Leonard, 2012 ONCA 622 (Crown application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed: SCC Case No. 35136)
Murder conviction overturned and new trial ordered due to improper jury exhortation: R. v. Vivian, 2012 ONCA 324
Murder conviction overturned and new trial ordered due to errors in jury instructions relating to "thin skull" principle and "common sense inference" on intent: R. v. Pittman, 2011 ONCA 148
Conspiracy and trafficking convictions overturned and new trial ordered due to errors in jury instructions on co-conspirators hearsay exception and party liability: R. v. Bogiatzis, 2010 ONCA 902
Young person acquitted of manslaughter in high-profile shooting: R. v. G.C., 2010 ONSC 178
Crown decision to require young person to be tried by jury set aside as an abuse of process: R. v. G.C., 2010 ONSC 115
Hearsay statements of convicted murderer excluded from young person's trial: R. v. G.C., 2009 CanLII 69333 (ON SC)
Sexual assault conviction overturned and new trial ordered due to trial judge misapprehending evidence and improperly taking judicial notice of matter not in evidence: R. v. Perkins, 2007 ONCA 585
Bracebridge Examiner (April 20, 2016) - "Bracebridge man wins appeal, set free after two years in psychiatric hospital"
Brampton Guardian (April 6, 2016) - "Dead wife's husband worked as police agent"
CBC News (August 1, 2014) - "'Mr. Big' ruling a 'game changer' for those convicted in sting operations"
Toronto Star (July 31, 2014) - "Supreme Court of Canada tightens rules around 'Mr. Big' stings"
Toronto Sun (April 1, 2014) - "Bid to stop community visits for Toronto cop's killer denied"
National Post (January 20, 2014) - "Escorted passes for snowplow cop killer far from a 'miscarriage of justice'"
Law Times News (August 19, 2013) - "Carter instruction in two-person conspiracies upheld"
Globe and Mail (July 9, 2013) - "Police may have used controversial 'Mr. Big' technique in alleged B.C. bomb investigation: lawyer"
Globe and Mail (September 18, 2012) - "Police's Mr. Big technique falls under scrutiny"
Toronto Sun (May 15, 2012) - "G20 activist cleared of all charges"
CBC News (January12, 2010) - "Not guilty verdict in Creba killing"
Moore, Timothy E., Peter Copeland and Regina A. Schuller. “Deceit, Betrayal and the Search for Truth: Legal and Psychological Perspectives on the ‘Mr. Big’ Strategy” (2009), 55 Crim. L.Q. 348. This paper was cited by the Supreme Court of Canada in its landmark ruling in R. v. Hart, 2014 SCC 52, in which a new common law exclusionary rule was developed to address concerns arising from the "Mr. Big" investigative technique.
"Search and Seizure: Computer Searches and Electronic Devices", Justice of the Peace Fall Conference, October 2011
"Getting Off the Record", Law Society of Upper Canada, Commute to Court Series, September 2011
"Facilitation Made Easy: Internet Luring and the New Frontier of Inchoate Liability", Law Society of Upper Canada, Six-Minute Criminal Defence Lawyer, April 2011
The Law and Youth Workshop, University of Toronto, February 2011
The Law and Youth Workshop, University of Toronto, February 2010
"Eliciting Truth by Telling Lies: The Reliability of the Reid Technique and the 'Mr. Big' Scenario", Osgoode Professional Development, New Perspectives on the Reliability of Evidence in Criminal Proceedings, December 2009
Constitutionality of Stunt Driving Provisions, Law Society of Upper Canada, Six-Minute Criminal Defence Lawyer, May 2009
"Races, Stunts and Challenges: On the Validity of the Stunt Driving Regulations", Criminal Lawyers' Association Spring Conference, May 2009
"The 'Big' Picture: An Overview of Issues Relating to the 'Mr. Big' Investigative Technique", Criminal Lawyers' Association Fall Conference, November 2008
Special Cross-Discipline Panel Discussion: Testifying as the Warrant Affiant, Osgoode Professional Development, Drafting and Reviewing Search Warrants, October 2008
"Throwing it in Reverse: R. v. Beatty and the Supreme Court's Retreat from the Narrow Application of the Hundal Standard of Objective Mens Rea", Law Society of Upper Canada, Six-Minute Criminal Defence Lawyer, May 2008
in-custody/toll-free: (844) 868-1825
tel: (416) 868-1825
fax: (416) 868-1826
email: pcopeland@petercopeland.com
150 King Street West, Suite 200
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 1J9
Information provided on this website is not intended as legal advice.