LogoutThe Hon. Patrick Galligan
Justice Patrick Galligan (1930-) began his distinguished legal career after being born in Pembroke to an Irish family whose father was a lawyer and later County Court Judge. Following his education at St. Patrick’s College and law school at University of Ottawa and Osgoode Hall (1952-1956), he articled with prominent criminal lawyers Arthur Martin and Arthur Maloney, working on notable cases including the famous Coffin case. After various positions in Ottawa firms, he joined Mirsky, Soloway, Assaly & Houston in 1957, later becoming a partner at Soloway, Wright while also serving as Director of Legal Aid (1959-1960) and part-time lecturer at University of Ottawa Law School teaching criminal law and evidence.
Appointed to the High Court of Ontario in 1970 at age 39, Galligan was involved in establishing the Canadian Judges Conference and handled significant cases including the Bower Featherston espionage trial under the Official Secrets Act. He was elevated to the Ontario Court of Appeal where he authored important decisions including Parks (sleepwalking defense), Brisbois v. Chamberland (his French judgment), and Hill v. Church of Scientology (defamation award). Disagreeing with Charter jurisprudence from the Supreme Court of Canada, he retired in 1995 and joined ADR Chambers for alternative dispute resolution work. His post-retirement career included conducting the high-profile inquiry into the Karla Homolka plea bargain controversy for the Attorney General, demonstrating his continued contribution to Canadian legal system integrity and reform.
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
- Divisional Court
- High Court of Ontario
- Magistrates Court
- Ontario Court of Appeal
- Provincial Courts
- Small Claims Court
- Superior Court of Justice
- Supreme Court of Canada
- Supreme Court of Ontario
- Laval University
- Osgoode Hall
- St. Patrick's College
- University of Ottawa
- University of Toronto
- Attorney General of Ontario
- Canadian Judicial Council
- Crown Law Office
- Department of Justice
- House of Commons
- RCMP
- Charter of Rights implementation
- Cold War espionage
- Cuban Missile Crisis
- Family Law Reform Act
- Great Depression
- John Diefenbaker Conservative government
- Second World War
- Canada
- Hamilton
- Kingston
- Montreal
- Ontario
- Ottawa
- Pembroke
- Quebec
- Toronto
- ADR Chambers
- Arthur Martin
- Gowlings
- Hughes, Laishley
- Lang Michener
- Malcolm Robb
- Maloney & Edmonds
- McMillan, Binch
- Mirsky, Soloway, Assaly & Houston
- Oslers
- Slaght, Robb & Hayes
- Soloway Wright
- Varcoe, Duncan & Associates
- Bower Featherston case
- Brisbois v. Chamberland
- City of Ottawa v. Wyeryha
- Coffin case
- David Maunder case
- Hill v. Church of Scientology
- R. v. Askov
- R. v. Morin
- R. v. Parks
- R. v. Stillman
- Judge
- Ontario Court of Appeal
- Alan Rock
- Arthur Maloney
- Arthur Martin
- Bower Featherston
- Casey Hill
- Chief Justice Howland
- Clayton Ruby
- David Doherty
- David Maunder
- Eddie Greenspan
- Hy Soloway
- John Diefenbaker
- Karla Homolka
- Louise Arbour
- Malcolm Robb
- Marian Hoare
- Patrick Galligan
- Paul Bernardo
- Peter Cory
- Tanya Goldberg
- Walter Tarnopolsky
- ADR Chambers
- Canadian Judges Conference
- Canadian Medical Protective Association
- Carleton County Law Association
- Law Society
- 1930s
- 1940s
- 1950s
- 1960s
- 1970s
- 1980s
- 1990s
- Administrative Law
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Battered woman syndrome
- Charter of Rights
- Criminal Law
- Defamation Law
- Estate Law
- Evidence
- Family Law
- French language proceedings
- Judicial Administration
- Legal Aid
- Motor Vehicle Accidents
- Municipal Law
- Official Secrets Act
- Personal Injury Law
- Plea Bargaining
- Property Law
- Sleepwalking defense
Some of these references were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Archive Details
Files consist of oral history records documenting the life and career of Patrick Galligan (b. 1930). Interview topics include: family background; early schooling; Osgoode Hall (1952-1956); junior, Malcolm Robb; junior, Varcoe, Duncan & Associates; Mirsky, Soloway, Assaly & Houston (1957); litigation practice, negligence, Ottawa; cases; Director, Legal Aid, Ottawa (1959-1960); lecturer, Ottawa Law School; appointment to High Court; appointment to Court of Appeal; retirement; Homolka Inquiry. Interviewer unknown. File includes 12 audio cassette recordings from a series of five interviews, a transcript with index (368 p.), and a copy of a release form.