Chapter 3

Richard D. Schneider

The Honourable Mr. Justice Richard D. Schneider, BSc, MA, PhD, LLB, LLM, CPsych, is a Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice, Deputy Judge of the Territorial Court of Yukon, Chair of the Ontario Review Board, and Alternate Chair of the Nunavut Review Board. He was previously a criminal defence lawyer and certified clinical psychologist. He was counsel to the Ontario Review Board from 1994 to 2000 and was certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a specialist in criminal litigation. Justice Schneider is also an Adjunct Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto; a “Specially Appointed Researcher” at the China University of Political Science and Law Criminal Psychology Research Centre. He was named Honorary President of the Canadian Psychological Association in 2002. Justice Schneider’s private practice was generally limited to the representation of mentally disordered accused, and a great deal of his time has been spent presiding at the Mental Health Court in Toronto. His major research interests are competency and criminal responsibility, and he has published extensively in the area of mental disorder and the law. Recent books include Mental Health Courts: Decriminalizing the Mentally Ill (2007, with H. Bloom & M. Heerema); Annotated Ontario Mental Health Statutes, 4th ed (2007); The Lunatic and the Lords (2009); Law and Mental Disorder: A Comprehensive and Practical Approach (2013, with H. Bloom); Mental Disorder and the Law: A Primer for Legal and Mental Health Professionals, 2d ed (2017, with H. Bloom); Fitness to Stand Trial: Fairness First and Foremost (2018, with H. Bloom); and The Death of a Butterfly: Mental Health Court Diaries (2019) [all published by Irwin Law/irwinlaw.com].

Caitlin Pakosh

Caitlin Pakosh is an Assistant Crown Attorney in Newmarket and an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) Forensic Science Program with experience researching and writing about the intersection between the forensic sciences and criminal law, most notably in her award-winning book, The Lawyer’s Guide to the Forensic Sciences (Irwin Law, 2016). Among her other duties as an Assistant Crown Attorney in Newmarket, Caitlin assists in the organization of the Domestic Violence Community Treatment Court, which addresses intimate partner violence cases involving accused persons with underlying challenges, including addiction, mental health issues, and elder violence among intimate partners. In her capacity at UTM, Caitlin teaches three courses that explore the forensic sciences and Canadian criminal law: a first-year introductory course, an advanced third-year course, and an upper-year research course. Prior to joining the Ministry of the Attorney General, Caitlin spent six years as a criminal defence lawyer, opening an appellate practice after working for several years at Innocence Canada (formerly AIDWYC, the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted) as its Case Management Counsel, then as its Senior Staff Lawyer. Caitlin was called to the Bar in Ontario in June 2012 after receiving her law degree from the University of Calgary in 2011. She graduated from UTM’s Forensic Science program in 2008, specializing in forensic anthropology with a minor in biology.

Lora Patton

Lora Patton is a Toronto lawyer, teacher, and researcher. Having worked in mental health for over a decade, Ms. Patton has previously worked as counsel in the legal aid clinic system, staff lawyer and lecturer in legal education, and as counsel to the Director of the Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office. Published in national and international textbooks, peer-reviewed journals, and independently funded research, Ms. Patton has written in the areas of health law, disability, and access to justice and social justice.