The Honorable Charles Dubin

This oral history interview with Chief Justice Charles Dubin provides a comprehensive overview of his distinguished legal career from the 1940s through the 1970s. Born in Hamilton in 1921 to American immigrant parents, Dubin faced anti-Semitism at the University of Toronto when excluded from fraternities but excelled academically, graduating first in his class from both U of T’s law course and Osgoode Hall Law School. He made history as the first Jewish student hired by a major litigation firm when Mason Foulds took him on as an articling student.

After establishing his own firm Kimber & Dubin, Dubin built a reputation primarily in criminal law, taking on significant cases including R. v. Harris (his first murder case assigned by Chief Justice Robertson), R. v. Horsburgh (involving a minister charged with contributing to juvenile delinquency), and R. v. Beaver (establishing important precedents regarding mens rea in drug possession cases). His civil practice included landmark cases such as Canadian Aero Service v. O’Malley (establishing corporate fiduciary duty principles) and the unusual distinction of arguing both sides of similar regulatory jurisdiction issues in tobacco and milk marketing cases before the Supreme Court of Canada.

Dubin served as a Law Society Bencher from 1966-1973 and was involved in high-profile matters including serving as counsel to John Diefenbaker and Davie Fulton during the Munsinger Inquiry. His final case before the Privy Council was Wellstead v. Brown, dealing with the archaic common law action of ‘criminal conversation.’ The interview reveals the evolution of legal practice, the challenges faced by Jewish lawyers in mid-20th century Ontario, and Dubin’s role in making criminal law more academically respectable alongside contemporaries like Arthur Martin.

This description was written by AI and may contain some inaccuracies.