LogoutMr. Justice Keith Flanigan
Justice Keith Allan Flanigan (born 1924) provides a comprehensive account of his legal career spanning from the 1940s to the 1990s. Born in Cornwall and raised in Kirkland Lake, Flanigan served as an air bomber in World War II before pursuing legal education at Queen’s University and Osgoode Hall Law School. His early career was marked by articling with the prominent Toronto mining law firm Roberts, Archibald, Seagram & Cole, where he gained expertise in corporate law and mining industry work under Kelso Roberts, the former Attorney General.
Flanigan established his practice in Kingston with Gibson & Sands from 1953 to 1970, specializing in litigation, particularly negligence work and insurance defence. His judicial career began with appointment to the County Court in 1970, followed by a significant role as the first Chair of the Tax Review Board from 1971-1975, where he helped clear a substantial backlog of cases. Returning to the County Court, he served as Senior Judge for Ottawa from 1977-1989, overseeing the construction of the new Ottawa courthouse and managing court operations during a period of significant growth.
The interview provides valuable insights into the evolution of the Canadian legal system, including the impact of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, court merger in 1990, and changes in legal practice from the 1950s through the 1990s. Flanigan discusses landmark cases involving DNA evidence, his involvement in founding the Canadian Judges Conference, and his views on various aspects of the justice system including preliminary hearings, sentencing, and family law.
This description was written by AI and may contain some inaccuracies.
References
The following are a selection of topics discussed in this oral history.
- County Courts
- Family Court
- Federal Court of Canada
- Magistrates Court
- Ontario Court of Appeal
- Provincial Courts
- Supreme Court of Canada
- Tax Court of Canada
- Tax Review Board
- Osgoode Hall Law School
- Queen's University
- Canadian Security Intelligence Service
- Legislative Assembly
- Tax Appeal Board
- Charter of Rights and Freedoms Adoption
- Court Merger 1990
- Patriation of the Constitution
- World War II
- Cornwall
- Federal
- Kingston
- Kirkland Lake
- Ontario
- Ottawa
- Sudbury
- Toronto
- Gibson & Sands
- McCarthy & McCarthy
- Roberts, Archibald, Seagram & Cole
- Strathy, Cowan
- Judge
- Ontario Superior Court
- Alec Prociuk
- Allan Campbell
- Allan Lawrence
- Arthur Martin
- Bert Honeywell
- Bill Colter
- Bill Henderson
- Bob Cudney
- Bora Laskin
- Buck Leal
- Charlie Doyle
- Cliff Reynolds
- Clifford Curtis
- Colin Bennett
- David Smout
- Donald Spence
- Edgar Benson
- Gordie Blair
- Gordon Hall
- Hugh Gibson
- Ian Scott
- Jack Frost
- Jack Sands
- Jack Simmonette
- Jimmy Auld
- Jimmy Garvin
- Joe Green
- John Cory
- John Robinette
- John Turner
- Keith Allan Flanigan
- Kelso Roberts
- Larry Poitras
- Lionel Chevrier
- Lou Tepper
- Maxwell Strange
- Michael Hickey
- Norman Seagram
- Otto Lang
- Peter McDonald
- Phil Baker
- Reggie Smails
- Roger Archibald
- Roly Stonge
- Roly Wilson
- Roy McMurtry
- Smalley Baker
- Stu Willoughby
- Syl Apps
- Thomas Frederick Cooper Cole
- Tom Zuber
- Viola MacMillan
- Walter Baker
- Advocate Society
- Canadian Bar Association
- Canadian Judges Conference
- Lawyers Club
- Ontario Hockey Association
- 1940s
- 1950s
- 1960s
- 1970s
- 1980s
- 1990s
- Administrative Law
- Charter Rights
- Constitutional Law
- Corporate Law
- Criminal Law
- DNA Evidence
- Family Law
- Insurance Defence
- Mining Law
- Negligence Law
- Tax Law
Some of these references were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Archive Details
File consists of oral history records documenting the life and career of Keith Flanigan (b. 1924), a lawyer who was appointed Queen�s Counsel in 1965. He was appointed to the County and District Courts of Ontario in 1970, and to the Tax Court of Canada in 1971. He was Senior Judge in the Judicial District of Ottawa-Carleton and served on the Ontario Court of Justice until his retirement from the Bench in 1994. Interview topics include: family background; World War II _ Air Force; Osgoode Hall, 1949-1953; Tax Review Board; values of juries; criminal cases _ DNA evidence; merger of the courts, 1990; and Charter of Rights, among others. File consists of three audio cassette recordings and a transcript with index (93 p.).