Justice John David Watt, Law '70, Appointed to Court of Appeal for Ontario

Photo by Ron Bull/Toronto Star

Justice John David Watt, Law '70.

Justice John David Watt, Law '70, a highly respected Ontario Superior Court judge, was appointed a Judge of the Court of Appeal for Ontario on October 12, 2007. "Before his recent appointment he was probably the most highly qualified and well regarded criminal trial judge in the country," said Professor Emeritus Ron Delisle. "While he will be an adornment to the Court of Appeal he leaves a very large gap in the Superior Court."

Since his call to the Bar of Ontario in 1972, Justice Watt has led an exemplary career in the province's justice system. At the Ministry of the Attorney General in the Criminal Appeals and Special Prosecutions Branch, he was Counsel from 1972 to 1985 and Deputy Director from 1975 to 1977. Thereafter, he served as Senior Crown Counsel in the Criminal Law Branch until his appointment as a Judge to the Supreme Court of Ontario in 1985, which became the Superior Court of Justice in 1999.

Having published widely in criminal law, Justice Watt has also lectured in this area at Queen's Law, the University of Western Ontario, Osgoode Hall Law School, the University of Toronto, and for the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) Bar Admission Course. "Over the past years he gave countless continuing education classes to members of the bar and to the judiciary," said Delisle.

In 1998 Justice Watt received the Harrison Tweed Award for Special Merit in Continuing Legal Education from the American Law Institute / American Bar Association (ALI-ABA). A faculty member of the Federation of Law Societies National Criminal Law Program since 1972 and Chair from 1985 to 2004, he was appointed Honorary Chair in 2004.

Justice Watt's contributions to the Ontario justice system and the advancement of jurisprudence in Canada were recognized in 2005 when, at a Call to the Bar ceremony, he was presented with an honorary Doctor of Laws by the LSUC.

"I am delighted to have another of our distinguished alumni appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal," said Dean Bill Flanagan. "It once again demonstrates the many contributions of our alumni to justice and public service."