Members of the media may directly contact:
Joao Velloso (English and French)
Associate Professor, Faculty of Law - Common Law Section
Professor Velloso's research focuses on critical criminology and socio-legal studies, penal policies and the use of mixed legal regimes in the governance of deviance and security. He is among University of Ottawa researchers who have been monitoring this case for years before it reached courts. Their report can be found here.
"(Plaintiff) Joseph-Christopher Luamba’s case is a very strong one, being legally and empirically heavily supported because it was designed to go against a 30-year Supreme Court precedent (R. v. Ladouceur, 1990). Lumba’s lawyer (Mike Siméon) knew it, we (criminal law professors and researchers) knew it, the Superior Court of Quebec knew it (very strong and well-supported decision), and the Quebec Court of Appeal knew it (again, a very strong decision).
"It’s a very strong case built over years aiming to be heard at the Supreme Court and it will be very difficult for the Supreme Court to overturn the previous decisions. Based on the two decisions from Quebec courts and on the Supreme Court of Canada's justices reactions in the hearings so far, the Supreme Court will more likely uphold the decisions from Quebec and revise Ladouceur, or shut it down completely."