Osgoode Society Books
Our books are listed here chronologically by date of publication. Use the Search function to the right to find a particular book, or author.
All Books
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Aggressive in Pursuit: The Life of Justice Emmett Hall
by Frederick Vaughan, formerly of the Political Science Department, University of Guelph. Published with the University of Toronto Press, 2004. In 1963 Prime Minister John Diefenbaker elevated Chief Justice Hall of Saskatchewan to the Supreme Court of Canada. This judicial biography focuses on Hall’s career as defence lawyer, and civil litigator, his position as a civil… Read more »
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The Rule of the Admirals: Law, Custom, and Naval Government in Newfoundland, 1699-1832
by Jerry Bannister, Professor of History, Dalhousie University. Published with the University of Toronto Press, 2003. The past two decades have witnessed a remarkable expansion in the study of the trans-Atlantic links of the British empire. This wave of historiography has passed by Newfoundland. Although most scholars acknowledge the role of the cod fishery in the… Read more »
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John J. Robinette, Peerless Mentor: An Appreciation
by George D. Finlayson, formerly of the Court of Appeal for Ontario. Published with Dundurn Press, 2003. John Robinette is generally acknowledged to have been the foremost counsel of his era and was, perhaps, Canada’s greatest advocate of all time. Comfortable before any court or tribunal at any level and regardless of issue, he combined… Read more »
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The Conventional Man: The Diaries of Ontario Chief Justice Robert A. Harrison, 1856-1878
edited with an introduction by Peter N. Oliver, Professor of History, York University. Published with the University of Toronto Press, 2003. Between 1856 and 1878, the year of his death, Robert A. Harrison, a Toronto lawyer, often described as the outstanding common law lawyer of his generation in Canada and Chief Justice of Ontario in the… Read more »
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Brian Dickson: A Judge’s Journey
by Robert Sharpe, Justice of the Court of Appeal for Ontario and Professor Kent Roach, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto. Published with the University of Toronto Press, 2003. After coming of age during the Depression on the Prairies, being severely wounded in World War II, and after a career as a successful and prosperous… Read more »
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The Law Makers: Judicial Power and the Shaping of Canadian Federalism
by John T. Saywell, Emeritus Professor of History, York University. Published with University of Toronto Press, 2002. For those who believe that the history of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council’s decisions on the Canadian constitution is an oft-told story, this book will be a revelation indeed. One of Canada’s outstanding scholars, Professor Saywell draws… Read more »
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Courted And Abandoned: Seduction In Canadian Law
by Patrick Brode, Legal Counsel, City of Windsor. Published with the University of Toronto Press, 2002. A pregnancy outside of marriage was a traumatic event in frontier Canada, one that had profound legal implications, not only for the mother, but also for the woman’s family, the alleged father, and for the entire community. Patrick Brode examines… Read more »
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Colonial Justice: Justice, Morality and Crime in the Niagara District, 1791-1849
by David Murray, Department of History, University of Guelph. Published with University of Toronto Press, 2002. As a colony, Upper Canada was obliged to adopt the essential elements of the British legal system. But just how did a system designed for a much more sophisticated society function in the wilds of early Canada? Focussing on the border… Read more »
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Canadian State Trials Volume II: Rebellion and Invasion in the Canadas, 1837-1839
edited by F. Murray Greenwood, Emeritus Professor of History, University of British Columbia and Barry Wright, Professor, Department of Law, Carleton University. Published with the University of Toronto Press, 2002. This second volume of the Canadian State Trials series focuses on the largest state security crisis in 19th century Canada: the rebellions of 1837-1838 and associated… Read more »
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Renegade Lawyer: The Life of J.L. Cohen
by Laurel Sefton Macdowell, Professor of History, University of Toronto. Published with the University of Toronto Press, 2001. J.L. Cohen, one of the first specialists in labour law and an architect of the Canadian industrial relations system, was a formidable advocate in the 1930s and 1940s on behalf of working people. Cohen is best described as… Read more »